Objectives:
To popularize the Free Movement Protocol (FMP) and Migration Policy Framework for Africa (MPFA) within African civil society. The forum specifically aims to improve Civil Society Organizations’ (CSOs) understanding of the FMP in order to increase their participation and strengthen their capacity in implementing the protocol.
Background:
Increased mass migration and displacement within the African continent has spurred several policy frameworks to address and manage it. The African Union in particular has established two key policy frameworks to address, manage, and promote migration and mobility within the continent: the FMP and MPFA.
The FMP, in particular, aims to curb and eventually eliminate barriers to regional border migration (to work, visit, trade, live, etc.) within the continent. Eliminating those barriers translates to economic growth on the continent as well as improved migration procedures for African citizens.
Despite the existence of these migration policy frameworks, policy uptake among member states and their popularization within African civil society remains low. In response, the Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) is collaborating with the African Union Commission (AUC) and other actors to promote the implementation of continental and regional migration policies in Africa, with a focus on labor migration and free movement, through the "Support to the African Union (AU) on Labor Migration and Free Movement" project.
The main objectives of the forum are to:
- Popularize the FMP within African civil society;
- Define the role of African CSOs in propagating free movement of people; and
- Identify training needs for CSOs thus contributing to the implementation of the protocol.
