{"id":43547,"date":"2025-03-31T21:06:35","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T21:06:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/all-news\/experts-urge-faster-ratification-of-au-free-movement-protocol"},"modified":"2025-05-05T19:40:20","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T19:40:20","slug":"experts-urge-faster-ratification-of-au-free-movement-protocol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/all-news\/experts-urge-faster-ratification-of-au-free-movement-protocol","title":{"rendered":"Experts Urge Faster Ratification of AU Free Movement Protocol"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Eritrea. <\/strong><\/span>Government officials, migration experts, diaspora representatives, private sector actors, civil society, and youth leaders gathered in Mombasa to press for concrete progress on ratifying the African Union\u2019s Free Movement of Persons Protocol.<\/p>\n<p>The two-day meeting, jointly convened by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Union Commission (AUC), brought together stakeholders to review and validate a report titled Enhancing Free Movement of Persons and Pathways for Labour Mobility and Skills Portability in Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia.<\/p>\n<p>The project forms part of a wider effort to reshape the narrative around migration in Africa and remove existing mobility barriers, with funding support from the Government of Italy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis report stems from a joint ECA-AUC effort launched in 2023 to challenge the dominant crisis-driven narrative around African migration,\u201d said Francis Ikome, Chief of the Regional Integration Section at ECA. \u201cGlobally, migration is often viewed as a problem. But within Africa, it is a driver of opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Referencing ECOWAS, Ikome noted that \u201ceven with recent setbacks in the Sahel region, ECOWAS has demonstrated how integration can work, not just in the movement of goods, but of people. It proves that concerns about free movement, while legitimate, should not stall progress.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Head of Humanitarian Affairs at the AUC, Rita Amukhobu echoed the message, highlighting that lessons from regional blocs are informing AU\u2019s work. \u201cWe continue to rely on regional communities as building blocks. They\u2019ve walked this path before. We\u2019re counting on countries like those featured in this report \u2013 Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia \u2013 to lead by example,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Amukhobu emphasized that the AUC \u201ccontinues to work hand in hand with member states and with ECA, our strong partner, toward getting this protocol ratified.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Simon Asare of the Ghana Immigration Service pointed to real-world experience: \u201cECOWAS has already moved beyond entry rights to include residence and establishment. Nationals from the region are living and working freely in Ghana. Some even receive citizenship.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The workshop took place as Ghana rolls out visa-free entry for all African nationals, Kenya implements a new e-Travel Authorization (ETA) system, and Zambia expands its visa liberalization measures. All three countries have signed the AfCFTA and are developing strategies to align trade and mobility frameworks.<\/p>\n<p>Ikome stressed the symbolic weight of progress by these three countries: \u201cIf Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia take these steps, they could serve as powerful accelerators.<\/p>\n<p>These nations are not only strategically placed but carry deep historical significance. Their founding fathers were champions of Pan-Africanism and the integration agenda. Their leadership today can inspire a continent-wide shift.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Eritrea<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Eritrea. Government officials, migration experts, diaspora representatives, private sector actors, civil society, and youth leaders gathered in Mombasa to press for concrete progress on ratifying the African Union\u2019s Free Movement of Persons Protocol. The two-day meeting, jointly convened by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Union Commission (AUC), brought [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":43546,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233],"class_list":["post-43547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-eritrea"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Experts Urge Faster Ratification of AU Free Movement Protocol - Eritrea<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Government officials, migration experts, diaspora representatives, private sector actors, civil society, and youth leade ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/all-news\/experts-urge-faster-ratification-of-au-free-movement-protocol\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Experts Urge Faster Ratification of AU Free Movement Protocol\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Government officials, migration experts, diaspora representatives, private sector actors, civil society, and youth leade ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/all-news\/experts-urge-faster-ratification-of-au-free-movement-protocol\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Eritrea\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-31T21:06:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-05T19:40:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/sites\/27\/2025\/03\/sm_1743440476.895602.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/all-news\/experts-urge-faster-ratification-of-au-free-movement-protocol#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/all-news\/experts-urge-faster-ratification-of-au-free-movement-protocol\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Experts Urge Faster Ratification of AU Free Movement Protocol\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-31T21:06:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-05T19:40:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/all-news\/experts-urge-faster-ratification-of-au-free-movement-protocol\"},\"wordCount\":445,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/all-news\/experts-urge-faster-ratification-of-au-free-movement-protocol#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/sites\/27\/2025\/03\/sm_1743440476.895602.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Eritrea\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/all-news\/experts-urge-faster-ratification-of-au-free-movement-protocol#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/all-news\/experts-urge-faster-ratification-of-au-free-movement-protocol\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eritrea\/all-news\/experts-urge-faster-ratification-of-au-free-movement-protocol\",\"name\":\"Experts Urge Faster Ratification of AU Free Movement Protocol - 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