African Youths Challenged to Take up the Fight for a United Africa
The people’s petition for the Borderless Africa Campaign is now live and accepting signatures. Targeted to obtain the support of 20 million Africans, the petition was launched during a high profile virtual meeting on the 20th of February 2023, which began with the Africans Rising theme song performed by a young female artist, Odelia Koroma. The meeting brought together over a hundred persons from Africa and the Diaspora and featured high-profile speakers such as Ambassador Hammad Salah of the AUC, Honourable Dzifa Gomashie MP of Ghana, Memory Kachambwa Executive Director of FEMNET and Kim Poole a soul-fusion performing artist and founding fellow.
Discussions in the meeting focused on the barriers and challenges Africans face when crossing national borders. African youths were called upon to demand the ratification of the protocol on free trade and movement by all African countries, so that travel across countries becomes easier for African citizens. This collective solidarity is what Africa needs to encourage African-devised and African-lead solutions to challenges and development goals across the continent.
The petition, now open for signatures, focuses on three main demands:
- Recognise and commend the four African states that have signed, ratified and deposited the AU protocol on free movement. These are Mali, Niger, Rwanda and Sao Tome and Principe.
- Encourage African States that have signed the protocol but are yet to ratify to do so with urgency. These are Angola, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’ivoire, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho,Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
- The petition also urges the leadership of the African States that haven’t signed the AU protocol to fast track the process and take the necessary steps to actualise the free movement of our people. These include Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea Bissau, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Eswatini, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Seychelles, Tunisia and Zambia.
