IN AFRICA MIGRATION FOR DEVELOPMENT I. Introduction IN AFRICA movement is expected to contribute to significant increases in trade and investment among African countries, which would in turn strengthen Africa’s position in global trade. Globally, and in Africa, States need to cooperate to harness the development benefits which migration brings, and to control who enters and stays on their territory. The growing trend towards the securitisation of migration and the closing of legal channels of migration forces migration underground, endangers the rights of migrants and boosts transnational crime. The free movement of persons in Africa, effective migration governance and strengthened interstate cooperation on migration should aid Africa’s development and security. In support of these continental priorities, the AU Heads of State and Government issued the Assembly Declaration Assembly/ AU/Decl.6 (XXV) on Migration in June 2015, at the 25th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly in Johannesburg, and committed to the following actions: strengthening efforts to combat human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants; speeding up the implementation of continent-wide visa free regimes, including the issuance of visas at ports of entry for Africans based on the principle of reciprocity; and expediting the operationalisation of the African Passport, to be issued by Member States, that would facilitate free movement of persons on the continent. In July 2016, the AU passport was unveiled in Kigali, with the adoption of the AU Decision on the Free Movement of Persons and the African Passport. The Decision called for the development of the AU Free Movement of Persons Protocol by January 2018 and noted the progress made towards ensuring free movement of persons as well as goods and services in Africa as a crucial element for deepening continental integration and unity in the spirit of Pan-Africanism, African Renaissance and realization of Agenda 2063. 25