Paper short abstract:

This paper attempts to engage in the policy discourse of the contexts that should shape the design and implementation of a continental, pan-African framework on free movement of persons.

Paper long abstract:

A fundamental corollary of deeper regional integration is the ability of citizens to move freely across national boundaries. The extent to which national elites have managed to relax, or completely eliminate, rigid visa and border requirements, speak to the commitment and seriousness of creating an effective transnational community. This realisation has shaped, and continues to shape, regional integration efforts across the globe. In the African context, while some Regional Economic Communities (RECs) such as ECOWAS, EAC and SADC allow some form of free movement of persons, there is no definitive continental framework. At the core of this paper is an attempt to engage in a policy discourse of the possibility of such framework. The African Union's (AU) role to coordinate, monitor and evaluate policies of the RECs is central to achieving this objective. This paper will dissect the policy contexts that should shape the design and implementation of a continental framework on free movement of persons.