CSOs push for ratification of AU Free Movement Protocol

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from across Africa renewed their commitment to promoting ratification of the African Union (AU) Free Movement Protocol during a high-level workshop held in Accra from 28–29 July 2025.

The two-day hybrid event brought together 48 in-person and 31 virtual participants from 10 AU member-states, including migration experts, policy actors and development partners. It was jointly organised by the CSO Coalition on Migration in Ghana with support from GIZ under its ‘Shaping Development-Oriented Migration (MEG)’ programme.

The forum aimed to strengthen CSO leaders’ capacity with tools and knowledge to support national campaigns for ratification and implementation of the AU Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment (AU FMP).

Since its adoption in January 2018, only four AU sember states – Mali, Niger, Rwanda and São Tomé and Príncipe – have ratified the protocol, despite 32 having signed it by mid-2022. This stands in contrast to quicker progress seen with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which was adopted the same year.

Eric Peasah, Convener-Ghana CSO Coalition, highlighted the historic movement of people across Africa and stressed that free movement of persons remains essential to achieving true African integration. He cited African leaders such as Julius Nyerere and Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, calling continental unity a social and economic necessity.

Madam Rita Amukhobu, Head of Humanitarian Affairs at the African Union Commission, addressed current concerns around regional security and reaffirmed the protocol’s importance in strengthening Africa’s integration agenda.

The event followed an earlier international peer-exchange among CSOs from Africa, Asia and Latin America, which identified free movement within Africa as a central advocacy theme.

Participants concluded the workshop with a renewed call to intensify advocacy, engage national governments and partner with regional institutions to accelerate ratification and ensure  full implementation of the Protocol.

The initiative is backed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ, which continues to support sustainable development and migration governance in Ghana and across the continent.

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