Assessing the impact of common market protocol on free movement of citizens within the East African Community (EAC)

Abstract

The principle of objective of this study was to investigate the impact of Common Market Protocol on the free movement of citizens among EAC member countries. This is based on the persistent question as to whether economic integration improves free movement of citizens or it simply regularizes a process that has been going on for years. The free movement and mobility of citizens of member states is one of the key pillars of almost all Regional Economic Communities, yet it remains the most contested. The specific objectives of the study include; analysis of the legal and policy framework that regulate free movement of citizens of partner states within the East African Community. The second specific objective was to assess the trends, patterns and volumes of migration related to EAC establishment. The third is to analyse the challenges and successes from free movement within the EAC. Using both the institutional and functionalist theory of international relations, this study explains why economic integration is desirable by most states, yet one of the key pillars which is freedom of movement of non-citizens create several normative and empirical challenges. The study is largely based on desktop research which involved collection and analysis of documents including treaties, protocols, different government reports and cross interviews with a few migration officials. The main finding is that although the legal framework for free movement in EAC is quite progressive, the implementation lag behind owing to what the study attributes to sovereignty issues, lack of prioritization and capacity issues. Most of the timelines set for the milestones for the common market protocol, the monetary union have all elapsed while some important provisions to facilitate free movement have not been put in place.