The African Union passport Initiative:  An implementation Path To Promoting Country Development And The Advancement Of Africans.

CONTRIBUTIONS.

Aboubakar YARI1 & Venus YARI1

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Affiliation;

Abstract:

The 27^th African Union summit in Kigali, Rwanda initiated a continent wide uniform passport and citizenship for all Africans. Mechanisms for implementation of the program are in process. Here, we discuss potential impacts of the passport program on development of the African union. We further propose implementation approaches that should benefit the program based on our analysis.

Keyword: African Union; Passport; Immigration;

Background:

The 27^th African Union summit in Kigali, Rwanda initiated a continent wide uniform passport and citizenship for all Africans. The passport was issued to selected officials of the African Union. Paths to expanding issuance of the passport to the citizens of the union are being debated as of the date of this publication. Here,  we contribute to the debate.  

Discussion:

Path 1: Protecting member countries from counterproductive immigration

A Double standard approach? 

Standard 1: passport to all; no visa for all.

Standard 2: conditional travel to and border crossing privileges designed by country in collaboration with a centralized immigration agency, and enforced by country consulate. A centralized immigration service may improve not member-member immigration but also member-non member immigration relations (see sea dwellers below, path 3).

Conditions:  should be set to promote development of host country and AU integration objectives while discouraging harmful immigration.

Path 2: Promoting productive exchanges of human resources

Member-member exchanges + member-non member exchange.

Path 3: Protecting Africans from life threatening immigration trends

Sea dwellers: from inland Africa to Maghreb to Italy and Spain. Sea dwellers put their lives at risk with no defined perspective on arrival. Alternative controlled member-member immigration with defined objectives may encourage sea dwellers to seek for internal member-member immigration and decrease the number of sea candidates. Here, again a centralized AU bound immigration agency can help.

Path 4: Creating a productive path to citizenship to foreign nationals of African origin to promote Capacity transfer.

Origin: A competitive advantage in transfer of competition sensitive data. Experience from melting pot populations. Subgroups more prone to transfer competition sensitive data to country origin than to others.

Selective immigration to support areas of development importance.

Path 5: Centralizing of implementation and enforcement

An AU bound centralized immigration agency is essential to success of the “passport to all” program. Issuances and implementation must be centralized to avoid multiple standards that will the program ineffective, expensive, and opened to abuses.

Conclusion:

We contribute to the opened debate on implementation strategies of the uniform passport program for all member state of the African Union, and propose paths to promoting the impact of the program on Africa’s development.

NOTES:

The African Union passport program is a property of the African Union. All proposed paths are proposals as contribution of the Biotech tropicana Systems in the opened debate on implementation strategies. The proposals must not have any effect on internal decisions of the African Unions. The Biotech tropicana Systems are not affiliated to the African Union.

References:

[1] African Union  passport. The 27^th African Union summit in Kigali, Rwanda. at http://www.au.int/en/pressreleases/31182/african-union-passport-launched-during-opening-27th-au-summit-kigali