AU Commissioner Says Protocol On Free Pan-African Movement Will Curb Youth Emigration

Adoption of the protocol on the free movement of persons under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will help the African Union to curb youth emigration from the continent, Albert Muchanga, the bloc's commissioner for Trade and Industry, told Sputnik on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th June, 2019) Adoption of the protocol on the free movement of persons under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will help the African Union to curb youth emigration from the continent, Albert Muchanga, the bloc's commissioner for Trade and Industry, told Sputnik on Thursday.

"We have a protocol on free movement of persons, right of residence, right for establishment. It has 2 ratifications so far, two countries have signed. Through that protocol we are going to make it easy for Africans to live, to move and work across Africa. We are going to make it easy to recognize professional and academic qualifications of all Africans. Labor moving is in demand," Muchanga said.

He pointed out that historically people wanted to live in their communities, but they were forced to move from the continent to find better economic prospects.

"[Youth migration] is going to end. You give them [youth] the opportunities, they will stay at home. They are moving away because they are looking for opportunities," Muchanga said.

The Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment was adopted on January 29, 2018, and is signed by 32 states.

AfCFTA was signed by 44 out of 55 African countries when it was launched in Rwanda's capital, Kigali, in March 2018. Although most countries have now joined the agreement, Nigeria one of Africa's leading economies, along with Benin and Eritrea, has refrained from signing it for unspecified reasons.