Towards the Free Movement of People in Southern Africa?

This paper seeks to analyse the 1995 and 1997 protocols with a view to examine the feasibility of free movement of people at this juncture of SADC`s d

In June 1995, the Draft Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was announced with much fanfare. In the course of the following two years, however, it became the object of considerable criticism from a plethora of actors, and January 1997 witnessed the 1995 Protocol being overturned and replaced by the Draft Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of Persons in the Southern African Development Community.

The purpose of this paper is to seek to analyse the 1995 and 1997 protocols with a view to examine the feasibility of the free movement of people at this juncture of SADC`s development. The paper also raises broader questions related to the issue of regional integration.

Author

Hussein Solomon, Senior Researcher, Human Security Project, Institute for Security Studies