Block by block

The report analyzes the complex landscape of African migration governance, highlighting the role of the African Union (AU) and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in promoting free movement and regional integration. It identifies significant gaps between the adoption of policy frameworks—such as the 1991 Abuja Treaty and the 2018 Free Movement Protocol—and their actual implementation. The document emphasizes the growing impact of climate change as a driver of mobility and the risks posed by the increasing use of immigration detention. It concludes that while subregional progress exists, overlapping memberships in RECs and a lack of compliance monitoring hinder the achievement of a borderless continent.

• African migration is primarily intra-continental and regular, with 20.8 million migrants moving within Africa, often to neighboring countries.
• Remittances serve as a critical economic driver for Africa, totaling US$100 billion in 2022, which represents nearly 6% of the continent's GDP and exceeds both Official Development Assistance and Foreign Direct Investment.
• Climate change is a significant driver of mobility, with projections suggesting that 86 million internal migrants in sub-Saharan Africa could be displaced by climate change by 2050.
• The 1991 Abuja Treaty is identified as the most implemented migration policy document for African governments, serving as the foundation for the establishment and strengthening of Regional Economic Communities (RECs).
• Implementation of the AU's 2018 Free Movement Protocol is slow, with only four countries (Mali, Niger, Rwanda, and São Tomé and Principe) having ratified it as of 2024, despite 32 countries signing it.
• Immigration detention is increasingly used as a management tool in Africa, often leading to arbitrary and indefinite detention of vulnerable groups, including children and refugees, which undermines the rule of law.
• The Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) has pioneered frameworks for climate-linked mobility, including the 2020 Protocol on Free Movement of Persons and the 2022 Kampala Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Climate Change and Environment.
• The effectiveness of migration governance is hampered by the fact that 95% of African countries hold memberships in more than one REC, creating coordination challenges and overlapping frameworks.
• Internal displacement in sub-Saharan Africa reached a record 34.8 million people by the end of 2023, with 69% driven by conflict and 31% by disasters.

APA

Maunganidze, O. A., & Mbiyozo, A.-N. (2024). Block by block. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1733807134030-AR-47-COR.pdf

Chicago

Maunganidze, Ottilia Anna, and Aimée-Noël Mbiyozo. Block by block. Institute for Security Studies, 2024. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1733807134030-AR-47-COR.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Maunganidze |first1=Ottilia Anna |last2=Mbiyozo |first2=Aimée-Noël |title=Block by block |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=November 2024 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1733807134030-AR-47-COR.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{maunganidze2024block, author = {Maunganidze, Ottilia Anna and Mbiyozo, Aimée-Noël}, title = {{Block by block}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2024}, month = nov, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1733807134030-AR-47-COR.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }