Borderless Africa

In this chapter, I make the case for a borderless Africa as this can redress the problem of prolonged refugee encampment. The central argument in this chapter is that Africa seeks for the possibility of adopting an indigenous solution to its refugee crisis by affording the refugees the rights to entry, residence and work in all the 54 countries. In my analysis, I deploy the concept of Ujamaa, a Swahili word for ‘familyhood’, which is a social policy agenda aimed at changing xenophobic attitude towards refugees and non-citizens in general. Ujamaa with its emancipatory framework could facilitate the refugees’ transition into life in the broader community once a borderless policy is introduced in Africa. Similarly, I analyse the Global Compact on Refugees (the Compact) which is the most recent development in the refugee space. Whereas the Compact promises hope, it did not offer new commitment to ease the burden on refugee host nations. As such, I argue that Africa’s commitment to the Compact should be framed within the AU Agenda 2063.