The African Union's Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, adopted in 2018, aims to give Africans the right to live and work anywhere within the bloc. It was meant to complement the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) launched in 2019 and operationalized in 2021.

But only four countries — Mali, Niger, Rwanda, and Sao Tome and Principe — have ratified the free movement protocol. Thirty-two other nations have signed the protocol, but it needs at least 15 ratifications to come into force.

African Union (AU) officials are concerned about the slow pace towards ratifications and the implications for trade on the continent.

"We know that without free movement of persons of goods and services, the ideals of AfCFTA would not be achieved," said Amma Adomaa Twum-Amoah, the AU's Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development.

"If they aren't able to move freely, then trading will become an issue," she told DW.

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Security concerns top the list of reasons why African nations have........

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