As Africa pushes for greater integration and economic development, a coordinated and better-managed migration landscape is central.

Migration offers significant potential for economic and social development in Africa, but outdated governance frameworks and fragmented regional approaches hinder the continent’s ability to fully harness its benefits.

The prospect of a more integrated, prosperous continent propelled by free trade remains at the core of African development discourse. This refrain was loud at the 16th African Economic Conference in Gaborone.

Key policy and decision-makers in the development and economic space deliberated on how to secure Africa’s economic future amid rising uncertainty. Free trade was identified as a potential game-changer, and many stressed the importance of linking efforts to achieve free trade with lifting barriers to freedom of movement for people.

The 2024 Africa Visa Openness Index, launched at the conference, showed some progress towards free movement, but more is needed.

Chart 1: Visa openness in Africa, 2024

Source: Visa Openness Index

This reaffirms the Institute for Security Studies’ (ISS) analysis that free movement of people is a key component of continental trade, economic freedom and integration. But what is needed to get there?

Already, major strides have been made to achieve free(r) trade in Africa, but the slower pace of complementary measures to advance free movement remains a stumbling block. This is further complicated by Africa’s complex and sometimes conflicting laws. Better cooperation between nations and regional mechanisms to manage migration fairly is vital.

A key way to achieve this is through harmonised migration policies to manage the projected increase in migration driven by factors like population growth, climate change and conflict.

Africa doesn’t lack frameworks. Examples include the Abuja Treaty on the African Economic Community, Free Movement Protocol, Migration Policy Framework for Africa, and African Continental Free Trade Area. The challenge lies in their full implementation.

For this, the ISS offers some recommendations to improve coherence, coordination, and implementation, ultimately aiming to strengthen the rule of law and protect migrants’ human rights. A recent ISS report identifies specific challenges such as immigration detention and the interplay between climate change and displacement, alongside the roles and limitations of regional economic communities (RECs) in fostering regional integration.

Many agree that migration within Africa benefits development, with money sent home by migrants now exceeding foreign aid. However, the many different laws at international, continental, regional, and national levels make it hard to manage migration effectively.

This is exacerbated by regression and fragmentation, such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger’s decision this year to leave the Economic Community of West African States – a region that leads in advancing the intra-regional free movement of people, paving the way since 1979.

Despite these setbacks, African countries are already making progress in some areas of migration governance. For example, the 2018-2030 Revised Migration Policy Framework for Africa provides a comprehensive continental framework that recognises the multidimensional nature of migration and its development potential. The upsurge in visa openness is also facilitating better-managed migration for development.

But more must be done to translate these frameworks into tangible improvements on the ground. By embracing a more progressive and collaborative approach to migration governance, African countries can unlock the full potential of migration and create a future where human mobility is a force for positive transformation.

To do this, there must be a paradigm shift in how African countries approach migration governance. The traditional focus on securitised border control and restrictions should be replaced with a more holistic forward-looking approach prioritising improved border management, regional integration, human rights, and migration’s development potential.

There are five areas where reform is critical to advance this approach. First, there are numerous migration-related instruments at the international, continental, and regional levels, leading to incoherence and coordination challenges. Together, the African Union and RECs should streamline these frameworks, ensuring greater clarity and consistency in policy implementation.

Second, overlapping memberships in RECs hinder the effective implementation of migration frameworks, as priorities don’t always align and can result in countries lagging behind in implementation. A more streamlined regional architecture could help reduce these overlaps and facilitate more efficient coordination.

Chart 2: African regional economic communities

Source: UNECA

Third, the absence of robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to assess the implementation of continental and regional migration instruments means there are limited opportunities for improvement. These mechanisms should be improved and focus on assessing compliance with human rights standards and identifying areas where further progress is needed.

Fourth, capacity building in member states and at the regional level should be strengthened. This should focus on enhancing member states’ understanding of key migration instruments, such as the Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons. This would empower governments to implement these frameworks effectively and maximise their impact on development.

Fifth, safe, orderly, and regular migration must be promoted, drawing from the gains of the 2018 global compacts on migration and refugees. These call for developing clearer guidelines to promote safe, orderly, and regular migration, enhance protections for asylum-seekers and refugees, and advance responsibility sharing between countries. Existing instruments often lack specific guidance on compliance.

By addressing these critical areas, African countries can create a more effective and humane system of migration governance. A well-managed system can contribute significantly to Africa’s development. It can boost economic growth, promote innovation and entrepreneurship, facilitate trade and regional integration, and increase remittances, supporting livelihoods and poverty reduction.

Well-managed migration can be a positive force for Africa. A holistic, integrated approach to migration governance that effectively addresses the complexities of human mobility in the 21st century is key. Africa can capitalise on the opportunities presented by migration while mitigating the risks.

In this way, nations can create a system that protects the rights of migrants, fosters regional integration, and promotes sustainable development. As with all policies, the proof of the pudding will be in successful implementation undergirded by political will, sustained commitment, and collaborative efforts among all stakeholders.

Written by Ottilia Anna Maunganidze, Head of Special Projects, ISS

Read the report ‘Block by block: unpuzzling Africa’s migration governance landscape’ by Ottilia Anna Maunganidze and Aimée-Noël Mbiyozo, here.