The Africans Rising, a Pan-African movement, has urged African governments to work towards a visa-free movement, single currency, and unified passport to enhance regional integration and development.
This has led to the upcoming conference called the Borderless Africa conference which the Africans Rising Movement will host on May 23-25 in Lusaka, Zambia.
The Communications and Media Lead for Africans Rising, a Pan-African movement,
Ms. Ann Lorna, made the appeal to African governments in a statement released on Saturday in Abuja.
Lorna pointed out that despite the progress in regional integration efforts, there is a need to remove barriers that hinders growth and obstruct the movement of people and goods across the continent.
About the conference
The three-day hybrid conference will assemble campaigners and stakeholders from across the continent and the diaspora, who are actively working towards achieving a borderless Africa.
Additionally, Lorna mentioned that this hybrid event would provide an opportunity for Africans worldwide to participate, engage, and contribute their insights.
“The three-day conference will majorly feature discussions and strategies pertaining to ratification and enforcement of the African Union (AU) Protocol on the Free Movement of People.
“It will stress the benefits of abolishing visas in Africa and will end with a mammoth match as a continental call for free movement of Africans in Africa, one currency and one passport.
“In the same vein, there will be continent-wide match for Borderless Africa organised by Africans on May 25th, African Liberation Day,” Lorna said.
She mentioned that the match would take place across several African countries and other regions worldwide.
This, she explained, was to encourage more countries to ratify the African Union’s Protocol on Free Movement and to increase awareness of the borderless Africa campaign.
She also noted that this event would be one of many activities planned as a continuation of the 2023 mobilization efforts.
Rationale for a borderless continent
Lorna described the Borderless Africa Campaign as a decentralized, people-owned campaign that strives to promote the free movement of African people and goods within the continent.
She emphasized that the ongoing objective was to advance the vision of an Africa where Africans could freely travel across their continent without the current border restrictions, all under the broad theme of a Borderless Africa for All Africans.
According to her, the ultimate aim of the campaign, was to realize an Africa where Africans can travel without the existing border restrictions.
She expressed optimism that these efforts would foster improved trade, job creation, solidarity, and economic development across the continent.
“The campaign pushes for the ratification and implementation of the African Union Protocol on Free Movement of Persons in all African countries.
“Inspite of the progress made in regional integration initiatives, there remains an urgent need to eliminate borders that stifle growth and impede the movement of people and goods,” she said.
Background
Lorna recalled that the African Union adopted the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons in 2018, noting that by 2023, only four countries had ratified the protocol, which requires 15 ratifications to come into force.
Although progress had been slow; however, with the large membership of Africans Rising, the organization had been successful in mobilizing efforts to promote the realization of the initiative.
“Activities such as the People’s Petition, matches, concerts, football matches among others have been some of the activities organised as part of the campaign.
“More than 20,000 signatures have been collected through collaborative efforts by members of Africans Rising in 30 African countries and the diaspora,“ she said.
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