STORY: African Union roots for free movement of persons

in the continent
DURATION: 4:44
SOURCE: AMISOM PUBLIC INFORMATION
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LANGUAGE: SOMALI/ENGLISH NATURAL SOUND
DATELINE: 11/FEBRUARY/2018, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA

SHOT LIST:

1. Wide shot, an Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) meeting on

the freedom of movement of persons taking place in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu
2. Med shot, Deputy Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union
Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Simon Mulongo attending the meeting
3. Med shot, representatives of the federal members states attending
4. Med shot, representatives of the federal members states, civil society
organizations at the meeting
5. Close up shot, Jennifer Pro, International Organization for Migration (IOM)
representative at the meeting
6. Med shot, participants from the federal members states attending
7. SOUNDBITE: (Somali) Ambassador Ali Mohamed Ali, Permanent Secretary in the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
“We believe that the free movement of persons and goods is important to all the
countries given that it will spur development. We all know how the European Union
started and how people can now move; only using their identity cards. There are a
lot things still to be done with regard to this but the Somali government welcomes
this initiative and will respect the laws and regulations of other countries.”

8. Wide shot, Ambassador Jamaludin Mustafa Omar, the Chairman of the IGAD
Council of Ambassadors speaking at the opening
9. Close up shot, the European Union Deputy Ambassador Pencho Garriro taking
notes
10. Close up shot, Ambassador Ali Mohamed Ali listening
11. SOUNDBITE: (Somali) Ambassador Jamaludin Mustafa Omar, Chairman of the
IGAD Council of Ambassadors
“This free movement of persons will help reduce poverty, and where people can
move freely there are opportunities which increase the potential for people to send
back home remittances and change the lives of the people they left behind.”

12. Med shot, Deputy Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union
Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Simon Mulongo, speaking at the meeting
13. Close up shot, Ambassador Ali Mohamed Ali listening
14. Med shot, representatives of the federal members states, civil society
organizations listening at the meeting
15. Close up shot, Ambassador Jamaludin Mustafa Omar
16. Wide shot, participants at the meeting
17. SOUNDBITE: (English) Simon Mulongo, Deputy Special Representative of the
Chairperson of the African Union Commission (DSRCC) for Somalia
“The African Union believes in the freedom of movement of persons across the
continent and is working with, and indeed encouraging regional economic
communities and regional mechanisms to speedily come up with arrangements,
policies and mechanisms that will guarantee the free movement of persons across
the continent.”

18. Close up shot, Yusuf Ali Mohamed, Director General, Ministry of interior of the
Federal Government of Somalia attending the meeting
19. Med shot, ministry of Constitution officials listening at the meeting
20. Close up shot, participants taking notes
21. Med shot, participants listening
22. SOUNDBITE: (English) Simon Mulongo, Deputy Special Representative of the
Chairperson of the African Union Commission (DSRCC) for Somalia
“Free movement in Africa is key to unlocking the economic potential. It will help us
better manage the migration challenges that we have and until we do this, we would
be actually talking nothing about the integration processes on the continent.
Integration as a theme is common these days as it is to the global world.”

23. Med shot, Pencho Garriro, the European Union Deputy Ambassador speaking at
the opening
24. Med shot, Yusuf Ali Mohamed, Director General, Ministry of Interior of the
Federal Government of Somalia and Ambassador Ali Mohamed Ali, the Permanent
Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs listening
25. Close up shot, DSRCC Simon Mulongo listening
26. Med shot, participants listening
27. SOUNDBITE: (English) Pencho Garriro, European Union Deputy Ambassador
“It is only in regional blocs and through integration that individual countries have the
greatest chances to continue developing and offer greater opportunities to their
citizens.”

28. Med shot, participants attending the meeting

African Union roots for free movement of persons in the continent

Mogadishu, 12 February 2018 – African Union supports the free movement of

persons in the continent and will continue working with regional economic blocs to
achieve the objective, the Deputy Special Representative of the Chairperson of the
African Union Commission (DSRCC) for Somalia, Simon Mulongo has said.
The eight-member state Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is
currently working towards making the free movement of persons a reality in the 5.2
million-square kilometer trade bloc.

The Authority launched a four-day national consultations workshop on free

movement of persons in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Sunday, to gather views
from local stakeholders and experts on the benefits and barriers of free movement
of persons.

Mr. Mulongo, who was the chief guest during the launch of the consultations,
welcomed IGAD’s initiative saying the move will help boost trade and economic
integration in the region.

“The African Union believes in the freedom of movement of persons across the
continent and is working with, and indeed encouraging regional economic
communities and regional mechanisms to speedily come up with arrangements,
policies and mechanisms that will guarantee the free movement of persons across
the continent,” he stated.

Similar consultations are also being held in other member states and once finalized
the views gathered will be used in formulating the IGAD Protocol on Free Movement
of Persons, aimed at boosting trade and improving the opportunities for regulated
labour mobility.

The trade bloc, which was established in 1996 to supersede the Intergovernmental
Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD), brings together Kenya, Djibouti,
Eritrea, South Sudan, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ali

Mohamed Ali, echoed Mr. Mulongo’s sentiments, saying the Federal Government of
Somalia fully supports the initiative.

“We believe that the free movement of persons and goods is important to all the
countries given that it will spur development. We all know how the European Union
started and how people can now move by only using their identity cards,” noted
Ambassador Ali.

The meeting in Mogadishu is being attended by senior federal government of

Somalia officials, representatives of the federal member states, civil society
organizations, academia and members of the international community.

In his remarks, Ambassador Jamaludin Mustafa Omar, the Chairman of the IGAD
Council of Ambassadors, spoke of the numerous benefits the free movement of
persons will bring to Somalia, and appealed to participants to discuss and come up
with proposals on implementing the initiative.
“This free movement of persons will help reduce poverty, and where people can
move freely, there are opportunities which increase the potential for people to send
back home remittances and change the lives of the people they left behind,”
Ambassador Omar explained.

Speaking at the same function, Dr. Ahmed Hassan Ahmed, the IGAD Representative,
noted that free movement of persons, will not only enhance regional integration but
also boost economies and sharing of information.

For his part, the European Union Deputy Ambassador, Pencho Garriro, urged African
countries to work towards strengthening economic cooperation to achieve
integration and long term development.

“It is only in regional blocs and through integration that individual countries have the
greatest chances to continue developing and offer greater opportunities to their
citizens.”

The IGAD project is funded by the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Stability and is
aimed at addressing the root causes of irregular migration and displacement persons
in Africa.