What will the status of refugees in an East African Federation Be?
Published: 14 Sep 2015
By: David Kigozi
Published in the EACSOF Newsletter
The Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC), Dr. Richard Sezibera, is reported to have said recently that the issuance of East African passports will kick off in November 2015. This is aimed at facilitating trade and movement of persons in the region. “Physical borders are being removed for regional integration but for some people it was still stuck in their minds,” the Secretary General was quoted as saying.
At the level of the African Union, there is also a renewed call for African countries to further open their borders. At the highest levels this year, there have been statements and commitments to speed up mobility and integration on the continent. Some of these have echoed the contents of a vision document issued in 2014, to “[i]ntroduce an African Passport, issued by Member States, capitalising on the global migration towards e-passports, and with the abolishment of visa requirements for all African citizens in all African countries by 2018.”
Read the full article here.