IGAD’s Executive Secretary Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu stressed that free movement regime is in line with the aspirations of the Authority and African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063, which advocates for free movement within regional economic communities.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Gen. Abubaker Jeje Odongo signs the Free Movement of Persons Protocol at Kampala Serena Hotel as IGAD’s Executive Secretary H.E Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu and other officials look on. Pho (4)
Uganda has signed the protocol on free movement of persons and
transhumance in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development – IGAD Region,
an eight-country trade bloc comprising Djibouti,
Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan.
The Protocol on Free
Movement of Persons is enshrined in the 1996 Agreement that establishes the IGAD.
Article 7(a) and 13(o) of the Agreement calls upon IGAD Member States to deepen
regional integration through creating a regime of free movement of persons, and
right of residence, among other things.
The Movement of Persons Regime aims at facilitating options for secure livelihoods for populations
living in fragile eco-systems faced with adversity of frequent droughts and
floods from climate change. The Protocol will also facilitate higher volume of regional trade,
improved access to social services, and improved governance of rural areas.
Gen. Abubaker
Jeje Odongo, the Minister
of Foreign Affairs who was accompanied by the Deputy Attorney General, Jackson
Kafuuzi Karugaba and officials from the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social
Development signed the protocol during an event convened by IGAD
Secretariat at Serena Hotel in Kampala on Tuesday.
Speaking at the
event, IGAD’s Executive Secretary Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu said the free movement regime is in line with the
aspirations of the Authority and African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063, which
advocates for free movement within regional economic communities.
//Cue in: “The free
movement of...
Cue out: …free movement regime.”//
Dr.
Workneh regretted that the IGAD is behind schedule on the instrument in comparison
with other regional economic blocs on the African continent such as Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Southern
African Development Community (SADC), and the East African Community – EAC
among others.
//Cue in: “While IGAD
member states...
Cue out: …and migration in general.”//
Meanwhile, Uganda's Protocol Gen. Jeje Odongo; the Minister of Foreign Affairs equally lamented that the
Protocol on Free Movement of Persons in the IGAD region is long overdue, 36
years since IGAD was founded in 1986.
//Cue in: “When we
put emphasis...
Cue out: …of integrating more.”//
The event was also witnessed by representatives of partners from the International
Labour Organization (ILO); The International Organization for Migration
(IOM); The Food and Agriculture
Organization - FAO, and Foreign and Commonwealth Development
Organisation (FCDO) among others.
Uganda
now becomes the 5th Member State to sign the protocol after Sudan
(May 2022), Republic of South Sudan (June 2022), Federal Democratic Republic of
Ethiopia (November 2022) and Federal Republic of Somalia (March 2023).Other
member states that include Kenya, Djibouti and Eritrea are yet to comply.
The Protocol on Free Movement of
Persons was approved by the IGAD Member State Ministers in charge of Internal
Affairs and Labour in 2020. Earlier in 2013, the Summit of the IGAD Heads of
State and Government adopted a Minimum Integration Plan to serve as a road map
for regional integration, with the free movement of people as a key pillar.
In 2018, the AU adopted the African
Economic Community and established the Africa Continental Free Trade Area
(AfCFTA) to champion the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons in Africa, Rights of Residence, and Right of
Establishment to create a single continental market for goods and services.
Ochola's journalism career begun from Radio King 90.2 FM in Gulu around 2009, and Radio Rupiny 95.7 Fm under Vision Group in 2012. He also reported for Mighty Fire 91.5 Fm, Kitgum in 2015 before joining Wizarts Foundation in 2017.
He has been reporting for Uganda Radio Network (URN) since 2017 before being posted as Bureau Chief Kitgum, and later Gulu between 2018 - 2021. Currently, he reports from Parliament.
