- Demands Ratification Of Free Movement Protocol
THE AFRICAN Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) has issued an urgent call for African governments to drastically strengthen protections for the continent’s millions of migrant workers, condemning widespread exploitation and ineffective border policies.
In a statement marking 2025 International Migrants Day, ITUC-Africa, while emphasising that migration is fundamentally an African reality, with most movements occurring within the continent, it noted that workers are primarily driven to migrate by unemployment, inequality, conflict, climate stress, and fragile labour markets in search of decent work and safety.
“The migrants and migrant workers are humans and workers and deserve protection and dignity,” the statement, released from the organisation’s headquarters in Lomé, Togo, on Wednesday, December 18, 2025, is signed by ITUC-Africa General Secretary, Akhator Joel Odigie, affirmed.
It however outlined a grim contrast, noting that many still face “exploitation, abusive recruitment, wage theft, forced labour, trafficking, and discrimination.”
According to the statement, women and young migrants are particularly vulnerable to violence and irregular migration pathways, as it acknowledged the existence of robust global and continental frameworks designed to address these issues, including International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions, the UN Global Compact for Migration, and various African Union (AU) instruments.
The organisation identified a critical failure in implementation; noting that “implementation gaps remain wide,” pointing to weak regulation of recruitment agencies, a lack of political will, limited labour inspection, and poor access to justice.
It criticised security-focused approaches and border externalisation policies as failures that “push migrants into dangerous routes while enriching traffickers.”
Central to ITUC-Africa’s demands is a call for all AU Member States to ratify the AU Free Movement Protocol, adopted in 2018, arguing that this is essential not only for protecting migrants but also for achieving the continent’s integration goals under Agenda 2063 and unlocking the full potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“Ratify the AU Free Movement Protocol… to achieve continental integration, unlock the AfCFTA’s potential, and give dignity to migrants, migrant workers, and members of their families,” the statement urges, as it further called on the African Union and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to harmonise labour migration frameworks, improve rights-based bilateral labour agreements, and ensure that free movement and AfCFTA ambitions are grounded in workers’ rights and social dialogue.
It stressed that this must be done collaboratively with critical stakeholders, “notably organised labour.”
Concluding with a commitment to action, ITUC-Africa pledged that trade unions would build alliances with non-state actors to engage governments and ensure the safety and dignity of all migrants.
