Result of Service

Successful and impactful policy advocacy towards the ratification and subsequent implementation of the protocol on Free Movement of Persons.

Work Location

Kenya

Expected duration

6 Months

Duties and Responsibilities

1. BACKGROUND

Africa has viewed regional integration as an important and necessary strategy to address the lack of competitiveness of the states’ economies which accrues from their smallness – a legacy of fragmentation of the continent by external actors during colonialism. The progress towards full continental integration which began with the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) almost seven decades ago has culminated in the recent signing of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and several other related initiatives which aim to lower sovereign boundaries to allow closer and deeper engagements and cooperation, and facilitate free movement of goods and services among African states, and seamless intra-continental migration for African people. The AfCFTA as well as these initiatives are driven by or through the African Union (AU). African leaders have sought not just to connect African economies/markets but, crucially also, African people. The AfCFTA and the other initiatives are undergirded by the vision of the African Union of building “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own Citizens and representing a dynamic force in the international arena”, by, primarily, transforming African Laws which are restrictive to movement across borders, and promoting integration of economies through free movement of persons. The African Continental Free Trade Area is set to usher in a new era of trade for Africa and is projected to create one of the world’s largest single markets, comprising 54 countries, 1.3 billion people, and a $3.4 trillion economy. However, the goals of the AfCFTA of attaining social and economic growth of Africa can only be realized if the states move to eliminate borders between them, to facilitate free movement of persons, goods, and services.

This aspiration for an integrated and borderless African continent has been manifested in the signing and adoption of several regional and continental agreements which recognize the interlinkages between trade and economic integration on the one hand, and the free movement of people on the other hand. The initiatives embody the desire of Africa to harness regional connectedness, integration, broader trade, labor migration, and development laws that are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. But free movement of persons is also viewed as important for the realization of other development aspirations, including peace and security. The AU has set out to have, by 2063, a continent with seamless borders, opening it up to free movement of people, capital, goods, and services. This is projected to result in significant increases in trade and investments among African countries, and further, enhance Africa’s competitiveness in global trade. Aspiration 2 of the Agenda 2063 states this aspiration for an integrated African continent to be based on the ideals of Pan-Africanism and the vision for Africa’s Renaissance. Agenda 2063 also envisages an integrated continent with improved infrastructure crisscrossing the continent, together with dynamic and mutually beneficial links with its Diaspora. Yet there seem to be marked disparities in the level of enthusiasm afforded for the integration of people and the integration of markets. While African states have been so far quick to sign and ratify free trade agreements such as the AfCFTA, they have been hesitant when it comes to ratifying and implementing frameworks for free movement of persons.

There have been several initiatives at subregional levels aimed at facilitating the free movement of persons, goods, and services which are considered building blocks for an ultimate borderless African continent. They are captured in treaties, agreements, protocols, and even provisions of founding treaties of Africa’s Regional Economic Communities (RECs). These include the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)’s Protocol on Free Movement of People and the Right of Residence and Establishment, which was adopted in 1979, barely 5 years after the signing of the Treaty Establishing the Community in 1975. The Protocol became effective in 1980. It made provisions for the rights of ECOWAS citizens to enter, reside, work, and establish businesses in the territory of member states, and outlined a 15-year, three-phased implementation process, beginning with the right of entry in phase I, followed by the right to residence in Phase II, and the right to establishment in phase III. ECOWAS has made serious attempts to implement the three phases outlined in the Protocol. The implementation of phase I, which commenced in 1980 resulted in the abolition of visas and entry permits for all ECOWAS citizens, within 5 years. Implementation of phase III, on the right of residence commenced in 1986 after the full ratification of the Protocol by all Member States. The implementation of the final phase – on the right to establish a business – is ongoing but has been held back by a combination of political, and economic considerations and national interests, as well as the Protocol’s weak legal framework.

The East African Community (EAC) has also developed legal frameworks to facilitate the opening of its borders to its citizens. Whereas the EAC has not developed a separate framework exclusively governing free movement of persons, the right to free movement of labour is captured under Articles 76 and 104 of its founding Treaty. Also, the EAC’s Common Marked Protocol which was signed in 2009 and came into force in 2010 commits the states to provide for the free movement of people, free movement of labour, the right of establishment and the right of residence, and for equal treatment and non-discrimination of nationals of partner states on grounds of nationality. The implementation of the Protocol has led to the adoption of EAC Passports and temporary travel permits recognized across the bloc, to facilitate the movement of citizens across the borders of the Community’s six Partner States. However, the full implementation of the Protocol has been delayed by several factors, including overlapping membership of Partner States with and commitments of the States to other RECs, the lack of harmonized national migration policies, real and perceived security concerns, economic and political asymmetries among member states, and financial and technical capacity of the EAC organs to coordinate the Protocol’s implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has also made attempts to develop legal and policy frameworks to facilitate the free movement of persons. In 1995 it adopted a Draft Protocol on the Free Movement of People, but due to resistance to the formulation of the Protocol from South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana – the richest countries per capita in the region – it was never implemented. A more accepted agreement – the Protocol on Facilitating the Movement of Persons – was adopted by SADC in 2005 and set out to progressively eliminate barriers to the movement of persons, goods, capital, and services amongst its Member States. The Facilitation Protocol makes provisions for visa-free travel, residence, and establishment rights subject to domestic legislation, and encourages member states to develop bilateral agreements to facilitate the free movement of persons. However, the implementation of the 2005 Protocol has also stalled as it has not yet been ratified by most member states. Although it has been signed by 13 States, it has only been ratified by six of them – Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, and Swaziland. Thus, the free movement of persons in the SADC region is still largely governed by bilateral agreements among Member States focusing especially on visa exemptions. Although the bilateral arrangements enable many SADC citizens to freely travel across the region, they do not provide the certainty that would be provided with the ratification of the 2005 SADC Protocol on Free Movement. Furthermore, the implementation of the bilateral visa agreements has been plagued by administrative bottlenecks, which have forced many SADC migrants, particularly those from poorer Member States, to resort to illegal and clandestine migration paths. The slow ratification of the Protocol due to the prioritization of sovereignty and security imperatives by SADC Member States over potential economic benefits that could accrue from the opening of borders has held back the region’s integration agenda.

Other efforts at subregional levels include those by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The 1996 agreement establishing IGAD set out as one of its objectives, the management of migration within the region, but it was not until 2012 when IGAD heads of state adopted the Minimum Integration Plan and a Regional Migration Policy Framework that IGAD began to show progress in the governance of migration and free movement in the subregion. The Regional Migration Policy Framework was followed by the IGAD Migration Action Plan (2015-2020) which was adopted in 2015. In 2020, IGAD endorsed the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons (and transhumance) in the IGAD Region. The Protocol was adopted by the IGAD on 24 June 2021. IGAD’s initiative on free movement of persons and transhumance, which gave rise to this protocol has been largely supported by the European Union (EU) through the EU Trust Fund (EUTF).

The Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to the Free Movement of Persons, the Right of Residence, and the Right of Establishment, is the most important instrument yet, that the AU has initiated to facilitate and promote, specifically, the free movement of persons in the African continent. Adopted in 2018 alongside the AfCFTA Agreement and a further Protocol designed for the promotion of Intra African air travel, the AU Free Movement Protocol aimed to lower and ultimately remove barriers to Africans moving across African borders to visit, trade, live, work, and establish businesses in other African countries. The FMP Protocol has an implementation Roadmap attached as an addendum. The implementation of the Protocol is set to take place in three phases, with phase one focusing on the right of entry of citizens of other member states of the AU into other African countries for up to 90 days to obtain employment, subject to domestic laws of the host countries, and requiring African countries to abolish visa requirements for Africa. Phase two focuses on the implementation of the right of residence of Africans from other African countries, including the rights for AU member state nationals’ spouses and children. The last phase involves the implementation of the right of establishment, including the right of citizens of other member states to set up a business, trade, or profession, or to engage in economic activity as a self-employed person.

The adoption of the AU FMP Protocol was preceded by several other AU initiatives aimed at easing barriers to movement of people across the continent, including the African passport, originally scheduled to be launched by 2020, the intra-continental free trade area (originally intended for launch by 2017), and the elimination of visas for Africans moving within the continent by 2018. Like the subregional initiatives, many of the integration targets and timelines at the continental level were missed. But while there has been progress recorded in the integration of the continent, especially with the recent signing and ratification of the AfCFTA Agreement, the pace of integration of African peoples through free movement has been slower than that of integrating African markets. States have adopted very cautious approaches to the opening of borders. There has been a huge disparity in the enthusiasm with which Africa has embraced the liberalization of regional/continental markets, and their general reluctance when it comes to the adoption and implementation of frameworks to facilitate the integration of people. This disparity is borne out by the unprecedented speed with which African countries signed (54 out of 55 member states), ratified (47 out of 55 as of June 2023), and enabled the entry into force of the historic Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The AU’s FMP Protocol has only been signed by 33 and ratified by a paltry 4 countries. The 4 ratifications are way below the 15 member states’ threshold required for the FMP Protocol to enter into force. This project aims, essentially, to address the issues surrounding the ratification and implementation of the FMP Protocol.

II. Objectives of the consultancy

Against the foregoing background, and in light of the crucial role free movement of people plays in the realization of the noble goals of the AfCFTA and Africa’s broader integration agenda, ECA and the AUC are launching a joint initiative to support the implementation of the AU FMP Protocol, to enhance the capacity of African countries to increase the accessibility, as well as availability and flexibility of pathways for free movement of persons and regular migration in 3 selected African States –Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia– to maximize the benefits from the recently launched AfCFTA.

The project also aims to support the ongoing efforts at regional and continental levels, aimed at securing the requisite number of ratifications for the ratification and subsequent implementation of the AU Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Rights of Residence, and Right of Establishment, considered to be crucial for the effective implantation of the AfCFTA. Thus, the project will also contribute to raising awareness about the AU FMP Protocol, while demonstrating the potential economic and socio-political benefits of the free movement of persons to Africa and addressing the concerns and fears of States about the risks of the free movement of persons in Africa. Finally, the project also aims to strengthen African states’ capacity to formulate and implement policies on the free movement of persons and migration in Africa. The lead partner for this project is ECA, which will leverage its experience from its work stream on the free movement of people in Africa. ECA has been engaged in the efforts to rally AU member States to ratify and implement the AU FMP Protocol. It has carried out research and analysis in several AU member States and Regional Economic Communities to highlight the benefits of free movement of persons for the implantation of the AfCFTA, and to establish the factors affecting the ratification and implementation of the AfCFTA. This project will draw and build on ECA’s work on the free movement of persons.

In support of this project, the Social Policy Section Gender Poverty and Social Policy Division and the Regional Integration Section (RIS) of the Regional Integration and Trade Division of ECA are collaborating, through the aforementioned Joint project, and wish to engage the services of a Policy and Advocacy Officer to support its stream of work dedicated to the promotion of the free movement of persons in Africa and to the ratification and implementation of the AU FMP Protocol in support of the AfCFTA.

III. Duties and responsibilities/Scope of work

Under the direct supervision of the Chief of Section, Regional Integration and the overall guidance of the Director of Regional Integration and Trade (RITD), the Policy and Advocacy Officer on Free Movement of Persons shall among others:

• Contribute to efforts of AUC and ECA to sensitize the three selected states – Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia – on the AU FMP Protocol, labor mobility, and skills portability-related issues, including how they impact the implementation of the AfCFTA.
• Support RINS/ECA and AUC in their efforts to disseminate the Joint AUC-ECA Policy Report on Free Movement of Persons for Trade: Towards an Accelerated Ratification of the AU Free Movement of Persons Protocol in support of the implementation of the AfCFTA.
• Help AUC-ECA organize training and advocacy workshops on the free movement of persons and skills portability in the three countries of focus.
• Support efforts aimed at strengthening and advancing the contents and goals of the AU Protocol on Free Movement of People underscoring its centrality in enhancing the prospects of successfully implementing the AfCFTA and advancing Africa’s broader integration agenda.
• Contribute to the articulation and development of a strategy to facilitate and encourage AU member States’ ratification of the Protocol on Free Movement of People and its subsequent implementation.
• Help and guide the three selected States to develop action plans with clear road maps for the ratification and implementation of the AU FMP Protocol, and for labor mobility and skills portability.
• Support the broader work of the division on advancing various dimensions of integration, across the three operational pillars of the ECA – knowledge generation, advocacy and capacity building, and operationalization of integration and development enhancing initiatives.

Qualifications/special skills

An advanced degree (Master’s Degree) in the field of Economics, Political Science, International Relations; International Organizations, Regional Integration; or Business Administration is required. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Advocacy and translating policy recommendations into concrete policy actions and building strategic alliances with Governments, Development Partners, and other stakeholders
Providing training/technical assistance to governments in the area of regional integration
A deep understanding of the African migration landscape.
Demonstrable experience in drafting technical documents for executive level consumption and/or peer review.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the UN Secretariat. For this consultancy, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another UN working language is an asset.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.