The Porous Borders of Africa By Gelora Nusantara 2010 One of the characteristics of a modern state is fixed territory, which

means that every modern state has a full and permanent control over one particular area. In the modern states era, one states territory is, especially if we are talking about land territory, always limited with other states territory. These limits are the border. International boundaries are the mutually acknowledged but entirely artificial line where one governments property rights end and anothers begin.1 States border usually are made by bilateral treaty or agreement between two bordering states. States borders were often remade or changed. The changing of borders was often occurred as a result of war between two neighbouring states, or a great war among states. The Versailles settlement after World War I is a very famous example how European states borders were changing after a great war. In this settlement, President Woodrow Wilson first announced the principle of national selfdetermination in redrawing borders in Europe. The Second World War also made same impact on borders. The decolonization process outside Europe after the Word War II created many new states and also created new international borders among countries. The international principle of Uti possidetis juris was applied unto these new established states. The Existing

Robert H Jackson & Carl G Rosberg, Why Africas states persist: The empirical and juridical in statehood, World Politics, 35 (1), 1982, p. 13.

borders drawn by the European imperialist were to be used as the borders for the newly created states in former colonized area.2 African states that mostly were created in the decolonization process postWorld War II, based on the principle of Uti possidetis juris also inherit the borders that created by their former European colonial rulers. Jeffrey Herbst stated that related to the African states borders, there are at least two international organizations that gave the most efforts in creating or maintaining the African border. The first was the 1885 Berlin Congo Conference. This was the time where the European imperialist started to divide Africa continent among them, and this process of creating colonies and drawing borders were completed in 1919. The Second International Organization is the Organization of Africa Unity (OAU). The OAU has a vital role in maintaining the African borders. In 1964 OAU made a resolution concerning border disputes that affirmed that African border is permanent and all African national leaders have to respect the territory that they achieved or inherited from their national independence process.3 Nowadays, we can say that every state in the world have fixed and stable border drawn in the map. The same fact is also applied to African Countries: African states borders are fixed and stable. However, the bold border line in African map does not reflect the real situation in the field: African states borders are very porous. In 1994 Robert D Kaplan in one of his book chapter The coming anarchy mentioned the situation of displaced people of four states in West Africa, which are Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast (Cote DIvoire),

Robert Jackson, Sovereignty in world politics: a glance at the conceptual and historical landscape, Political Studies, XLVII, 1999, p. 446. 3 Jeffrey Herbst, The creation and maintenance of national boundaries in Africa, International Organization, 43 (4), 1989, pp. 673-676.
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Liberia and Guinea, as he stated the borders dividing these four countries have become largely meaningless.4 This meaningless border statement was called out after Kaplan described how massive were refugee movements among those four states as a result of insurgency war in Sierra Leone and Liberia. John O Oucho also argued that in some cases there were no border control at all in African border and the cases of porous border and ineffective border control in Africa are become ordinary cases.5 This essay will discuss about the relation between the porous borders in Africa, emphasized in Sub-Saharan African States, and African government effort to develop their countries. The discussion will be divided into three sections, as the first will be the relation of insurgency in Africa with border, the second is refugee and border issue, and the last will be discussing about development and border. The first section will be discussing about the insurgents border crossing activities and the needs of insurgency containment inside one country border, and the second section will be discussing about the presence of refugee in African border area, in the third section the discussion will be mainly around the free movement of person protocols of ECOWAS and SADC, and lastly this essay will conclude that for developing countries border line and effective border control would give lot of supports in government effort in development. Insurgency and border

Robert D. Kaplan, The coming anarchy: Shattering the dreams of post cold war, Random House Inc., New York, 2000, p. 8. 5 John O Oucho & Jonathan Crush, Contra free movement: South Africa and the SADC migration protocols, Africa Today, 48 (3), Fall 2001, p. 146.
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In the issue of insurgency, we can see that many African governments are not able to overcome the insurgency issue very well. Since the independence of many African states the insurgency has become acute problems that prevented some African governments to develop their countries. Herbst argued that none of the insurgency in Africa has accomplished to create a new state in Africa.6 This can be true, for there are only few insurgencies that have goal of creating new states in Africa. Insurgency based on one ethnic claimed over one territory such as in Biafra insurgency in South East Nigeria and Northern Somalia insurgency that already established not yet recognized state of Somaliland are good examples for this kind of goal. In other hands, it can be argued that the creation of new states is not the main goal of African insurgency. It would rather said that insurgency in Africa is about the notion that legitimized ruler of a country will get a great benefit of their position. We can see the examples from Ugandan Yoweri Museveni guerrilla in 1980s, Liberian Charles Taylor rebellion in 1990s, Laurent Kabila led rebellion in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that finally able come to power in DRC in 1997, The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebellion Led by Foday Sankoh and many more. All those insurgencies goal is only to topple the government or regime and become the successor government with fully internationally recognized right and privileges. Even though the goal of the insurgency is directed internally but the insurgents often operate outside of their national territory. Prosper Addo in his paper discussed about cross-border criminal activities in West African

Herbst, p. 676.

Countries mentioned at least three of six predominant border crimes are conducted by rebel groups or war combatants. Those six crimes are narcotic and drugs trafficking, internet crime (advance fee fraud/ money laundering, human trafficking, fire arms trafficking, recruitment of child soldier or mercenaries, and smuggling illegal goods, mineral and natural resources and cash crops. Rebel groups and combatants are involved in the last three crimes mentioned above.7 The most interesting and shocking crimes is the recruitment of child soldier or mercenaries from other neighbouring countries, because this crimes involving the abduction of children from their family and later train the children to carry weapons. Some scene of the film Blood Diamond in 2006 will show us the terrible things about the recruitment of child soldiers, and diamond smuggling from conflict zone to neighbouring countries. Sustained insurgencies have reduced government effective control over all its territory. Without effective control over border line, the cross-border crimes will eventually getting worst and bigger. The other three cross-border crimes that have not been involved by insurgents will get affected, parallel increase, as much as the other three cross-border crimes done the insurgent. Addo added that the effort to combat the cross-border crimes have not worked due to porous border of the state, the lack of capability of border patrol officer and lack of political will of government to this matter.8 Despite of these three problems, the fact that some border areas are effectively controlled by insurgent is causing problems to border control effectiveness.

Prosper Addo, Cross-border criminal activities in West Africa: Options for effective response, KAIPTC paper no. 12, May 2006 pp. 5-6. http://www.kaiptc.org/_upload/general/no_12.pdf viewed 19 October 2010. 8 Addo, p. 12.
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The example of infamous insurgents that operated cross border are the Front Democratique de Liberation du Rwanda (FDLR) that still remained in the eastern Congo provinces of North and South Kivu and also Lords Resistance Army (LRA) of Uganda that operates also in Uganda neighbouring countries which are Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan.9 These two insurgent groups are still active terrorizing people in border of those countries. Though in the case of FDLR, Rwandan Government already offers repatriation for those rebels who surrender, and did some rebels take this opportunity, there still some small FDLR group active in DRC border.10

West African was one good example of a region where the insurgent movement tend to cross states border. From the rebellion of Charles Taylor that stroke Liberia from Cote DIvoire and Guinea and successfully came into power in Liberia, in Sierra Leone Foday Sankohs RUF was backed by Charles Taylor government in Liberia and were joined by many combatants from another countries such as from Liberia and Burkina Faso, and the rebellion against Liberian president Charles Taylor that stroke from Liberians neighbouring countries: Guinea and Cote DIvoire.11 The trend of using neighbouring countries as a shelter or base of operation was so prominent in West Africa. Idean Salehyan argued that the strategy of using another countrys territories as a base of insurgency will give some benefit for the
9 Michaek Onyiego, Ugandan rebels threaten Southern Sudans referendum, Voice of America, http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Ugandan-Rebels-ThreatenSouthern-Sudans-Referendum--105191669.html viewed 1 November 2010. 10 Former FDLR rebels return to Kigali, http://allafrica.com/stories/201008201255.html viewed in 2 November 2010. 11 Ernest Harsch, Setting foreign fighters on the road home: Repatriation of ex-combatants vital to securing regional peace, Africa Renewal, 23 (2), July 2009, p. 7.

insurgent such as escaping jurisdiction from their own state, significantly lower the cost of insurgency and improve bargaining outcomes.12

Cross border insurgents are difficult to fight by one country alone. The absence of jurisdictions to act in another states territories should be overcome by cooperating with neighbouring states. The common actions of strengthening the borders among neighbouring countries were important to contain the insurgents so the insurgents cannot cross border. The insurgents containment inside their own countrys border will eventually made the governments counter-insurgency actions more effective.

At this stage Salehyan argued that the weak neighbouring states were contributing to war in one country.13 The lack of capabilities of neighbouring states to guard their own border was one reason for the insurgents to use neighbouring states territory as base of operation. In other case some countries made their border loose on purpose. As in case of Foday Sankohs RUF that consolidated his power in Liberia territory and was assisted by Charles Taylors National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), later in March 1991, they all crossed the Liberian border into the eastern province of Sierra Leone and took control of several towns in border in only few days.14

The involvement of foreigners in certain insurgency can be seen in many respects. The recruitment process can be done in several ways; voluntarily or

12 Idean Salehyan, Transnational rebels; neighboring states as sanctuary for rebel groups, World Politics, 59 (2), 2007, p. 222. 13 Salehyan, p. 237. 14 Revolutionary United Front (RUF), Global Security.Org., http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/ruf.htm viewed 3 November 2010.

by coercion. Herbst argued that economic incentives were used mostly in motivating or recruiting followers, added by political indoctrination, ethnic mobilisation and coercion.15 As Addo already argued above in relating the cross-border crimes, that rebels recruited mercenaries from neighbouring states. Those foreign mercenaries were voluntarily involved in one certain insurgency based on economic motives. When one civil war ended in one certain country, many ex-combatants were struggled to live their lives. The lack of skill, education and job opportunities in a new recovered state gave them no option but to become mercenaries, to do what best they can do: carrying weapons.

For some ex-combatants they are ready to shift allegiance from one group to another as the opportunities for pillage changed16 and the readiness is including to cross border and to fight in any side in another country civil war. Shifting allegiance based on economic motives was not dominated only by ex-combatants, but also happened in government soldiers. After their salaries were not paid by government, hundreds of Somali soldiers deserted and some of them joined Al-Qaeda militant, the insurgents that they supposed to fight.17

Neighbouring states tacit supports for one certain insurgency also determined the number of foreign soldier in insurgent troops. Before March 1991, RUF were only hundreds of soldier, but the support of Liberian ruler

15 Jeffrey Herbst, Economic incentives, natural resources and conflict in Africa, Journal of African Economies, 9 (3), 2000, pp. 270-271. 16 Harsch, p. 8. 17 Katharine Houreld, unpaid Somali soldiers desert to insurgency, ABC News, http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=10491303 viewed 03 November 2010.

Charles Taylor bolstered the amount of soldiers in RUF side. Some times in order to overcome the insurgency, government have to make sure that neighbouring countries are supporting all the efforts. Containment of insurgents inside the border and cut out the outside supply lines for the insurgents arguably will restrict and weaken the insurgent resistance. For this purpose government has to strengthen the border control and make a good cooperation with neighbouring states to make sure the borders are sealed for illegal crossing.

Refugee and Border

Nowadays, displaced persons are international problem. United Nations has one particular organ to deal with this problem which is United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). In its annual report in 2009, UNHCR mentioned that there are almost 43.3 million forcibly displaced person worldwide. That number consists of 15.2 million refugees, 983,000 asylum seekers and 27.1 million internally displaced persons.18

Aderanti Adepoju observed that the refugee problem in Africa had at least three main causes, which are armed conflict, demand for boundary adjustment that often involved clashes between group or ethnic group, and geographical and climate driven causes.19 Arm conflicts are the main cause of displaced persons everywhere in the world. For example the refugee accrues

18 UNHCR 2009 global trends: Refugees, Asylum-seekers, returnees, internally displaced and stateless person, UNHCR, 2010, p. 1, http://www.unhcr.org/4c11f0be9.html viewed 4 November 2010. 19 Aderanti Adepoju, The dimension of the refugee problem in Africa, African Affairs, 81 (322), 1982, pp. 24-25.

from arm conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq almost reached the number of 5 million people. These two countries with their arms conflicts sit in the first and the second place in the major source countries of refugee chart.20 Rank number two in the region that hold most refugees, Africa continent hold almost 2.2 million refugees in 200921. Somalia, DRC, Sudan and Eritrea are four biggest refugee source countries in Africa. Arm conflict in Somalia is compounded by poverty and natural disaster and made many people fled from Somalia to their neighbour countries of Kenya, Yemen, Ethiopia and Djibouti. In DRC, the recent refugee case is caused by the geographical concerns over fishing and farming disputes in Equateur province and this situation is also compounded by arm conflict in Northeast Congo that led many refugees fled to Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Sudan and Uganda.22

Concerning boundary adjustment, the OAU stand was clear that African states maintain the border inherited in their independence movement even though that border line cut many ethnic group and separated them into different states. The connection between refugee and the OAU stand for state border, could be seen in the OAU meeting in 1963 discussing about the claim of Somali nationalists in Kenya that want to incorporated their territory to Somalia. During that meeting Kenyan delegation made a clear point in their argument that Kenyan territory would not be adjusted, in the other hand the population were welcome to be adjusted. If they (the Somalis) do not want to live with us in Kenya, they are perfectly free to leave us and our territory

UNHCR, p. 8. UNHCR, p. 7. 22 UNHCR, p. 9.

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..., this is the only way they can legally exercise their right of selfdetermination.23 This view was shared by most African government.

Hosting hundreds of thousands refugees is a very big responsibility for a country. Many African governments are not ready to take all these big responsibilities. Therefore, there is a need of international intervention in supporting the presence of refugee in one country by coordinating and providing refugee camps and international aid for refugee. In Africa, Kenya and Chad are two examples of African states that hosting more than 300,000 refugee in several camps or other location in their border area. There are four refugee camps in Kenyan border, three are near Dadaab in border with Somalia and one is near Kakuma in the border with Sudan. Most of refugee in Kenya refugee camps came from Somalia, Ethiopia and Southern Sudan.24 Whereas in Chad, there are 12 refugee camps in eastern border with Sudan alone and 5 more refugee camps in the southern border with Central African Republic. Instead of those refugee camps there are also many refugee locations along Chad eastern border with Sudan. Ongoing crisis in Darfur Sudan made hundreds of thousands Sudanese fled to Chad. The same situation also happened in Central African Republic, government soldiers are fighting rebels in Northern Central African Republic, thousands refugees are flooding the refugee camps in Southern Chad border after the rebels attacked.25

Jackson & Rosberg, p. 15. 2010 UNHCR country operations profile-Kenya, UNHCR, http://www.unhcr.org/cgibin/texis/vtx/page?page=49e483a16 viewed 4 November 2010. 25 Thousands flee attacks in Central African Republic; seek shelter in Chad, UNHCR, http://www.unhcr.org/49831d224.html viewed 4 November 2010.
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The interesting thing in Africa is some countries are not only hosting refugees from neighbouring countries but in the same time also become the origin of refugees for their neighbouring states. As for example in DRC while many Congolese fled to neighbouring states, in the same time DRC is hosting almost 155,000 refugees from Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, The Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sudan and Uganda.26 This situation occurs in many states in Central and East Africa. We can say that every border in Central and East Africa are populated by refugees.

Insecurity is the main problem in refugee camps. Jeff Crips in his paper about insecurity of refugee camps in Kenya observed that there are at least five categories of violence in refugee camps; domestic and community violence, sexual abuse and violence, armed robbery, violence within national refugee groups and violence between refugees and local populations.27 His observation on Kenya refugee camps can be used as reference to know the condition of most refugee camps in Africa. He argued that one of the causes of the insecurity in refugee camps is the weak control of government and lack of capability of security authorities along the border area as he stated the condition of border area in Kenya have always insecure and weakly governed and the insecure border area is characterized by banditry, cattle rustling and insurgency, as well as violent clashes between Kenyan army and local armed groups.28

2010 UNHCR country operation profile - Democratic Republic of the Congo, UNHCR, http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/page?page=49e45c366 viewed 4 November 2010. 27 Jeff Crisp, A state of insecurity: The political economy of violence in refugee-populated areas of Kenya, UNHCR working paper no. 16, 1999, p. 1, http://www.unhcr.org/3ae6a0c44.pdf viewed 08 November 2010. 28 Crisp, p. 19.
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Usually one refugee camp can consist of thousands of refugees. But with the new waves of refugee coming every day, many refugee camps are overpopulated and cannot support the refugee needs. Overpopulated and insecure refugee camps drive many refugees to continue walking and reach the nearest cities or capital. Urban refugees become problems in the city. When the refugee camps seem cannot support all refugee needs, cities offer more possibilities for refugee. In those cities any urban refugees are able to fulfil their needs independently and living a better life than in refugee camps.29

Trend of urban refugee is still growing and an observation concluded that almost half of refugee under UNHCR mandate is living in cities and town and only one third living in the camps.30 Increasing number of urban refugee and economic competition in job opportunities and market in the cities at some points generate high tension between local citizens and urban refugees.31 An example of the urban refugee problem is best shown in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. The increase of urban refugee pushed Kenyan government to issue public notice that requests all refugees in Nairobi to go back to refugee camps in border area.32 Containing a big number of refugees in the border area is proven to be a difficult big job for Kenyan Government and UNHCR. When process of repatriation of the refugee, voluntary return of refugee or

Elizabeth H Campbell, Urban refugee in Nairobi: Problems of protection, mechanism of survival, and possibilities for integration, Journal of Refugee studies, 19 (3), 2006, p. 396. 30 Sara Pavaleno, Samir Elhawary & Sara Pantuliano, Hidden and exposed: Urban refugees in Nairobi, Kenya, HPG working paper, 2010 , p. 11, http://www.odi.org.uk/events/report.asp?id=2120&title=hidden-exposed-urban-refugeesnairobi-kenya viewed 8 November 2010. 31 Campbell, pp. 401-402 32 Kenya: Urban refugees to be sent to camps, Pambazuka News, http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/66328 viewed 8 November 2010.
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settlement of refugee in third countries are move very slowly, containment of refugee in the border area seems to be the best way in coping the refugee problems.

The 1951 Conventions relating to the Status of Refugee and its Protocols bring out the principle of non-refoulement and non-expulsion of refugee in article 33. In article 31, the convention also regulates the exclusion of refugee from any penalties concerning their illegal entry or presence in one state territory, a state who is a contracting party to the convention, as long as the refugees came directly from their state of origin to that state. States are allowed to strengthen their border control to avoid any unwanted people or refugees entering their territory. But once refugees entered or infiltrated the border they should be treated based on the 1951 Convention.

In addition to the 1951 convention, African Union also have the 1969 Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa and this convention is signed by 47 African states.33 In this convention African Union added the clause of non-rejection of refugee at the frontiers. The emergence of the non-rejection clause in the convention was arguably influenced by the African traditional concept of living together with people from different tribes. African traditional value which described as hospitality towards the traveller, the exile is the characteristic of African society, a deeply rooted tradition which allowed vast number of refugees in

African Union addressing the challenge of forced displacement in Africa, Conference background paper for Expert Meeting Special Summit on Refugees, returnees and displaced persons in Africa Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 5-7 November 2008, p. 5. http://www.africa union.org/root/au/Conferences/2008/november/pa/regugee/Conference%20paper%20on%20Evolu tion%20and%20currsituation%20.docviewed9November2010.
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Africa to rebuilt their lives among their former neighbours.

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It is the

African Heritage of hospitality and humanitarianism that affect African policy in dealing with the refugee and other displaced person.

The clause of non-rejection at the frontiers is a very brave step by African Union that even developed liberal countries will not take. It arguably will eventually exacerbate the refugee problem along African borders. In other part of the world, many developed liberal countries are still struggling with the reception of refugees or asylum seekers at their border. It is argued that even if developed liberal states fulfil their responsibilities according to humanitarianism requirement, refugee problems will not end, there will be other new refugees accrue from politic, social and economic instability all around the world.35 Full reception of refugees and asylum seekers might not the best solution to overcome refugee problems.

At this stage we can say that the porous border in many Africa states and lack of capacity of border controlling by African government made the refugee influx uncontrollable. For many weak African governments refugee at their border might be not their primary problems, since they are busy to maintain their regime in power. But for a few African governments that already committed to develop their countries, massive foreigner influx, refugee, asylum seekers or illegal migrants, entering into their territory become new concerns. For example, the triple razor wires and electrified fences built by South Africa along their border with Zimbabwe are meant to stop illegal

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Adepoju, p. 26. Matthew J Gibney, Liberal democratic states and responsibility to refugees, The American Political Science Review, 93 (1), 1999, p. 180.

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migrants and smugglers from Zimbabwe. South Africa also deploys soldiers and built a station for soldiers in every 10 kilometres along their roughly 250 kilometres border with Zimbabwe to prevent refugees or asylum seekers, illegal migrants and smugglers crossing the borderline.36

Development and border

The relative stable political situation in today western and southern African sub region has been shifting government focus toward development. Sub region economic cooperation such as Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) become prominent in African states relations. Many African governments become more aware that their countries efforts to develop are much more depend on the stability in the sub region. The sub region economic cooperation are now expanding their role not always only concerning economic matters, but also more extensive matters that might be related to the development efforts. ECOWAS and SADC have extended its role toward peace, security, defence, health and social affairs. ECOWAS also constitutes ECOWAS standby force and Community court of Justice, similarly SADC also has its standby force train in SADC Regional Peacekeeping Training Centre and SADC Tribunal.

Both ECOWAS and SADC promote free movement for person for their community citizenship. These free movement protocols will allow free person

36 South Africa: Troops reinforcing a porous and dangerous border, IRIN Humanitarian news and analysis, http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=89262 viewed 8 November 2010.

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movement across states borders in the sub region. These protocols regulate the free movement rather different with the well known Schengen scheme of free movement in European Union. The ECOWAS and SADC regulated their free movement protocol based on immigration regulation. Every community citizen has in possession of a valid travel document to travel across border.37 Even though visa requirement is already waived, the immigration clearance still has to be done in the immigration checkpoint in the border and immigration authority still can refuse some community citizens to enter their territory that so called inadmissible immigrants based on their immigration law.38 The presence of immigration checkpoint in internal border in the African sub region for community citizens become a different character of African type free movement from the European Schengen type free movement.

For the Free movement protocols implementation in African sub region we will take ECOWAS as an example but also will mention the obstacle that faced by both ECOWAS and SADC. ECOWAS regulated its free movement into three phases: the first phase in 1979 protocols regulated abolition of visa and exit permit for community citizens, the second phase regulated by protocol in 1986 granted community citizens the right of residence and lastly the third phase in 1990 protocol regulated the right of establishment. The three phases of free movement will gradually grant community citizens the

ECOWAS protocol A/P.1/5/79 Relating to Free Movement of Persons, Residence and Establishment, article 3 verse 1 http://www.comm.ecowas.int/sec/index.php?id=ap010579&lang=en viewed 9 November 2010 & SADC Draft Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of persons article 14 verse 2 http://www.sadc.int/index/browse/page/149#article14 viewed 9 November 2010. 38 Aderanti Adepoju, Fostering Free Movement of Persons in West Africa: Achievements, constraints, and prospect for intraregional migration, International Migration, 40 (2), 2002, p. 11.
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freedom to enter, reside and establish in country different from their nationality.

At this stage, the free movement goal and the protocol seem very promising for the development of African countries. The implementation of the free movement protocol is faced with many problems that sourced on the unpreparedness of each member states. The poverty of ECOWAS members, the undiversified structure of their economic, cultural political and ideological differences among them as well as political instability of many member countries explained why ECOWAS treaty has remained a dead letter.39 There is a doubt that the free movement protocol either will not fulfil its primary goal to support member states economic growth nor will only become justification for many illegal migrants in several most preferred migrant destination member states.

As common migration problems, the free movement of person notion will eventually come back to the classic problem of sender and receiver countries. Richer African countries will attract migrants from its relative poorer neighbouring countries.40 This can be clearly seen in Nigeria, Cote DIvoire and South Africa. Economic growths in those three states are benefiting from migrant labours that came from their neighbouring states either it is legal or illegal migrant labours. An economist from United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Dr. Javier Nkurunziza observed that many member states of African sub region economic cooperation are

39 Jaime de Melo & Arvind Panagariya, New Dimension in Regional Integration, Cambridge University Press, 1996, p. 244. 40 Aderanti Adepoju, Fostering Free movement of Persons in West Africa, p. 5.

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still battling with negative perception of labour migrant. Furthermore he argued the importance of a well managed and easier labour migrant movement since it will bring remittance for sender countries and also facilitates the creation of business and trade network in both sender and receiver countries.41

Political situation and many others social and economic obstacles deter many migrants from possessing a valid travel document or passport and choose to cross border illegally. As for example, Zimbabweans who want to cross border to South Africa are troubled getting passport after incredibly increase of the passport fee to as much as US$ 670 per passport in 2009.42 Even though later in September 2010 Zimbabwean government reassessed the passport fee and reduced it until only as much as US$ 50, this price is still felt too much expensive for most poor Zimbabweans who want to cross border legally.43

Anthony Minnar stated that in modern world, border control must not be seen as preventing the cross border movement of people, but rather as assistance in regulating the orderly legal movement of people.... Furthermore on his observation over Southern African free movement protocol implementation he argued that Southern Africa countries should move the opposite way that is tightening both border and internal control

41 UN urges free flow of labour on continent, http://allafrica.com/stories/200907280239.html viewed 9 November 2010. 42 Zimbabwe: Passport fees leave a population going nowhere, IRIN Humanitarian news and analysis, http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=82515 viewed 9 November 2010. 43 Cost for standard passport reduce from $140 to $50, Metro Zimbabwe, http://www.zimbabwemetro.com/news/cost-for-a-standard-passport-reduced-from-140-to50/ viewed 9 November 2010.

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over movement of persons and goods.44 A little different to Minnar, John O Oucho and Jonathan Crush believed that South African countries should only promote free movement on goods and capital to encourage development in Southern Africa countries particularly in migrant sender countries. Furthermore they argued that free movement of person would bring several difficulties such as more unmanageable illegal migrant labour flow to one particular country, increase of xenophobia and violence towards migrant and the problem of controlling external sub region borders.45 Political, economic, social and public service availability differentiation among African states in the same sub region may trigger transnational crimes. Strengthening border control is the most straightforward effort to handle it. Conclusion Border are very important for every states, it express and limit the territory that under one state jurisdiction. Inside the border, government can apply all its policy for the state interest. Security and development are much depends on how government control their border. Containing insurgency inside the border arguably will help the government counter-insurgency action to be more effective. Cross border crimes also harm the development process. Beside of the economic loss, it will also endanger the secure filling in the community. For that reason there is a need to combat the cross border crimes by strengthening the border. Although lax control and the porous

Anthony Minnar, Border Control and Regionalism: The case of South Africa, African Security Review, 10 (2), 2001, http://www.iss.co.za/pubs/ASR/10No2/Minnaar.html viewed 9 November 2010. 45 Oucho & Crush, pp. 146-147.
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border do not cause these criminal activities, they create the space to pursue then with greater ease.46 In the refugee problem, containing massive numbers of refugee in refugee camp along the border is still considered as the most available option for hosting countries. However, the concentration of refugee in border area need host country government support especially in maintaining the security. Government has to strengthen it border control so that the conflict will not spread inside the border following the refugee influx. Border control empowerment also has to be the main concern in the development process. Even though the free movement of person and good idea is paramount in the economic related discussion, developing countries especially African countries have to realize that the idea of free movement will not well applied in the region consist of many unequal welfare countries. Industries and labours in developing countries still need protection and border control should be the protector against external goods and labour influx into the country. Based on those three themes on border, developing countries, especially African countries must put more concern in maintaining border control and keep the border area secure in order to run the development process. For their own national interest and region interest, African Countries also have to promote and maintain cooperation with bordering countries to strengthen the border. Strong border control especially for people movement still considered important for developing countries.

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Minnar

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