A Critical Analysis of the Role Played by Free Movement of People to Economic Development in the ECOWAS Region
Keywords:
Free movement of People, Economic development, Economic IntegrationAbstract
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) adopted in 1979 the Protocol on free movement of people with the objective of grating the rights of free movement, residence and establishment to the community’s citizens. More than forty years after the adoption of the Treaty, this article discusses the journey of free movement in the region. Only the first of the three stages of implementation of the Treaty’s provisions has been fulfilled; the non-full realization of the implementation is due to some challenges that have been the subject of multiple treatments. Free movement of people enters in the sphere of regional economic integration whose aim is to improve the socioeconomic level of member states; in this domain the EU is the most advanced model. Thus, free movement in the ECOWAS can be approached in the light of the EU case. By having a comparing analysis between the two communities, it appears that the elements that have assured European success are lacking in the ECOWAS. Furthermore, an examination of the reality in the region shows a complexity that is unique to West African countries. Therefore, it stands out that efforts to fully implement free movement, that it may contribute to the improvement of the economic development of ECOWAS countries, must be preceded by the satisfaction of many conditions at different levels.
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