IGAD | UGANDA | MOVEMENT 

KHARTOUM - Uganda has been urged to sign the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Protocol on Free Movement of Persons and the IGAD Protocol on Transhumance.

The call is among the several recommendations made by the 48th IGAD Council of Ministers on Wednesday, November 30, 2022, in Khartoum Sudan.

Uganda has been urged to sign the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Protocol on Free Movement of Persons.

According to a Communiqué of the 48th Ordinary Session of the IGAD Council of Ministers, which was held in Khartoum, Sudan, out of the eight member countries, four: Uganda, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti, are yet to sign the protocols.

The ministers asked the IGAD secretariat to engage Uganda after an extensive deliberation on the report about the protocols tabled by IGAD executive secretary Dr Workneh Gebeyehu. 

They on the other hand congratulated the other four member states: South Sudan, Tanzania, Eritrea and Ethiopia for signing the protocols.

IGAD executive secretary Dr Workneh Gebeyehu. (Courtesy Photos)

IGAD, which is headquartered in Djibouti city, Djibouti, is an eight-country trade bloc that includes governments from the Horn of Africa, the Nile Valley and the African Great Lakes.

Some of the provisions in the protocol

On Feb 26, 2020, internal affairs ministers and those Labour from IGAD member states, convened in Khartoum and endorsed the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons in the IGAD Region.

"This Protocol is a major milestone on our journey towards peace, prosperity & ultimately regional integration," Workneh said at the time.

However, it appears that endorsement was the easy part as half of the trade bloc's member states are yet to append their signature to the protocol.

The 48th IGAD Council of Ministers sat on Wednesday, November 30, 2022, in Khartoum Sudan.

The 40-article protocol if signed and enforced by all member states, will, among others, ensure that citizens of IGAD member states have several benefits, including the right of free movement and guarantee the right of entry, stay, move freely and exit the territory of other member states.

Another provision of the protocol is the right of free movement of workers and self-employed persons and their dependants and guarantees them the right to apply for employment, conclude contracts and accept offers of employment and accord the right of the worker to be accompanied or joined by dependants in the territory of other Member States.

Member states shall in accordance with the provisions of the protocol progressively realize the right of establishment and residence of citizens of other member states in their territory, which 'shall be guided by the principles in relevant regional, continental and international instruments'. 

Other recommendations

The council of ministers also urged IGAD member states to conclude payment of arrears and consistently honour the statutory remittance of assessed annual contributions, which they said are "a critical requirement to fully realise and operationalise ongoing organisational and institutional reforms and effective implementation of IGAD projects and programmes".

They also emphasised the need for IGAD to be formally represented in the headquarters of major international organisations subject to available financial capacity.

IGAD gets land for the secretariat

During the same session, the ministers thanked the Republic of Djibouti for allocating land for the headquarters of the IGAD secretariat, which they committed to ensuring that its construction is realised as soon as possible.