The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) has secured a historic legislative breakthrough, adopting two transformative Model Laws during the Sixth Ordinary Session of the Sixth Parliament.
The Model Law on Labour Migration in Africa and the Model Law on Gender Equality and Equity mark a definitive step in the continent’s drive toward legislative harmonisation, social justice, and economic integration, setting a robust legal precedent for all African Union (AU) Member States.
The Model Laws, adopted on November 5, 2025, are the culmination of extensive continental consultations, ensuring they reflect the diverse needs and aspirations required to accelerate the goals of AU Agenda 2063—The Africa We Want.
Labour Migration: Turning Brain Drain into Brain Gain
The Model Law on Labour Migration in Africa serves as a vital legal blueprint designed to regulate and govern the mobility of workers across the continent in a rights-based, effective, and coordinated manner. It directly tackles the dual challenge of protecting workers’ rights while harnessing migration for continental development.
Hon. Senator Bideri, Chairperson of the Committee on Trade, Customs and Immigration Matters, highlighted the law’s strategic link to Africa’s economic future. The framework aims to:
Addressing Cultural Nuance: While grounded in universal human dignity and non-discrimination, the law is crafted as a “soft-law instrument” that can be adapted to national and cultural contexts without sacrificing its core principles, providing a progressive reference point for gender justice.
The Power of Harmonisation and the Path to Domestication
The adoption of these Model Laws is a testament to PAP’s core mandate: to work towards the harmonisation of laws across the continent. While the Model Laws themselves are not legally binding, their power lies in their normative influence. They provide national parliamentarians with technically sound, pan-African endorsed templates to introduce or revise national legislation.
The challenge now shifts from adoption to domestication.
As President Charumbira has consistently emphasized in PAP sessions, the Parliament’s role is to ensure the AU’s policies and legislation are understood and implemented at the grassroots level.
The success of these landmark Model Laws will be measured by the speed and fidelity with which AU Member States integrate these standards into their national legal frameworks, translating legislative ambition into lived reality for African citizens.
