Mr Albert Siaw-Boateng, ECOWAS Director of Free Movement of Persons and Migration, on Tuesday canvassed for free movement of persons and labour mobility as catalyst for regional integration and the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA).
In his paper, titled “Free Movement of Persons and Labour Mobility as Catalysts for Regional Integration and AFCFTA Success”, at the ongoing First Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja, Siaw-Boateng, highlighted the link between human mobility and regional integration as well as labour mobility as driver of intra-regional trade even as he assessed progress under ECOWAS Free Movement Protocol and identified challenges to labour migration governance.
According to him, building a harmonised regional data collection and management system provides the very foundation for ECOWAS policymakers to develop evidence-based migration and development policies that are tailored to the region’s demographic, nine pillars of the Regional Migration Policy, which include; promoting Free movement and regional Integration within the ECOWAS Zone; border management, trafficking, cross-border crime; managing labour migration and student mobility; and enhancing the migration and development nexus, among others.
Speaking on labour migration policies, he said that the ECOWAS Common Approach to Migration, adopted in 2008 by the conference of Heads of State at the 33rd ECOWAS Summit, has, according to him, the objective of establishing the link between migration and development and minimising the negative impacts of migration.
The ECOWAS Director maintained that the Free Movement Right of Entry is fully implemented, highlighting ongoing efforts to abolish the 90-day stay requirement in national laws, strengthen border capacities to facilitate labour mobility, and implement other measures.
Despite progress, he noted serious governance gaps, including limited labour inspections, weak portability of social protection, and insufficient sharing of labour market information. He said ECOWAS is prioritising aligning free movement with labour standards and protections to ensure migrants are not exploited.
He disclosed that several programmes are underway to address these gaps, including the EU-funded Free Movement and Migration Project, the ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card, the ECO-Visa, and a Regional Labour Migration Statistics Programme to harmonise methodologies across member states.
Siaw-Boateng also identified informality as a major challenge, noting that “about 70 per cent of migrant workers are in the informal sector,” which makes it difficult to regulate labour standards and extend social protection. He added that data fragmentation and weak enforcement of the protocol continue to hinder implementation in some countries.
Other challenges include skills mismatches and limited recognition of qualifications, which he said are being addressed through a Regional TVET and Qualifications Framework, as well as initiatives to develop a cross-border labour inspection network.
He concluded that while labour mobility supports industrial development, addresses skills gaps, and promotes women’s and youth inclusion, robust governance reforms and digital labour mobility systems are needed to fully unlock the benefits of AfCFTA and regional integration.
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