UNIÃO AFRICANA

AFRICAN UNION	         UNION AFRICAINE
Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA	P. O. Box 3243	Telephone: 517 700	Fax: 5130 36
 	website: www.au.int

DECLARATION ON MIGRATION
Doc. Assembly/AU/18(XXV)
Decision No: Assembly/AU/Decl.6(XXV)

We the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, meeting at the 25th Ordinary Session of our Assembly in Johannesburg in the Republic of South Africa from 14-15 June 2015, under theme “Year of Women Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063”.

Following our discussion on the strategic issue of Migration, hereby individually and collectively reaffirm our previous commitments aimed at accelerating mobility and integration on the continent, migration in development while addressing regular and irregular migration; we commit to undertake the following actions:

	i)	Speed up the implementation of continent-wide visa free regimes 		including issuance of visas at ports of entry for Africans and based on 		the principle of reciprocity where those countries that offer free 			movement should receive same;

	ii)	Offer all Africans the same opportunities accorded to the citizens of 		countries within our respective Regional Economic Communities 			(RECs) by 2018;

	iii)	Expedite the operationalization of the African Passport that would, as 		a start facilitate free movement of persons that will be issued by 			Member States;

	iv)	Establish a harmonized mechanism to ensure that higher education 		in Africa is compatible, comparable, with acceptability and enable 		recognition of credentials that will facilitate transferability of 			knowledge, skills and expertise;

	v)	Establish a mechanism on practical modalities for the empowerment 		of African women and youth in education and, encourage their 			sustained growth in knowledge acquisition; and to include exchange 		programmes	and self-employment in the education curriculum;

	vi)	Strengthen efforts to combat human trafficking and smuggling of 		migrants through the implementation of the provisions of the UN 		Convention on Transnational Organized Crime and its 				supplementing Protocols against Trafficking in Persons and 			Smuggling of Migrants by improving legislation, provision of victim 		support enhanced international 	cooperation and training;

	vii)	Assist in the stabilization of the elected government of Libya.

1.	REQUEST the Commission to urgently organize a retreat of the Executive 	Council to consider:

	i)	the issue of Mobility and Free Movement of people in Africa;

	ii)	the development of a common position for Africa before the Malta 			conference on Migration with the European Union in November 2015;

	iii)	the development of a Protocol on Free Movement of Persons;

	iv)	in collaboration with Member States engage in the process of 			developing capacity to manage migration flows within the continent.

2.	ENDORSE the Horn of Africa Initiative on Human Trafficking and Smuggling 	by the AU Commission and the outcomes of the Regional Conference	on Human Trafficking and Smuggling held in Khartoum, Sudan from 13-16 	October 2014 including the TOR, Declaration, Strategy and Plan of Action; 	and REQUEST the Commission to report regularly to the Executive Council 	on the Initiative;

3.	DECIDE to remain seized with the matter and REQUEST the Commission 	to report to the Assembly on the implementation of this Declaration in 	January 2016.