Sub-regional legal instruments on international migrants’ rights and their implementation mechanisms:The case of the East African community

Abstract

The discourse on the unity of Africa in the 1960s gave birth to the notion that sub-regional organizations would be a vehicle and building-block for the unity of the African continent and its people. One of these sub-regional organizations is the East African Community (EAC), whose origin predates the independence period and, indeed, the colonial administration is credited for its creation. Since then, it has been evolving: it was initially founded as the East Africa High Commission; it metamorphosed to become the East African Common Services Organization; and matured to become the East African Community. The driving force behind its integration process has always been anchored in the shared interests of the people of East Africa, in terms of history, culture, political, and socio-economic development.