Abstract

BALOLE, Christian Via. The protection of core labour standards in the African Continental Free Trade Area treaty: contribution to the emergence of social regionalism in African regional trade. AHRY [online]. 2023, vol.7, pp.237-259. ISSN 2663-323X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.29053/2523-1367/2023/v7a11.

The core labour standards are a poor side in the African free trade area treaty which focuses on the promotion of trade liberalisation while completely ignoring social dimensions. Based on the principle of systemic integration, this contribution demonstrates the legal mechanisms through which these standards can nonetheless be protected in this law. Considering, however, that this is an indirect protection that can prove ineffective, this article highlights the crying need for a legal framework that expressly protects these standards. This is a legal framework that not only refers to international labour standards recognised by the International Labour Organisation, but also provides for dispute settlement systems, labour cooperation mechanisms and financial penalties. Such an approach is likely to lead to the emergence of social regionalism in African regional trade.

Keywords : protection; normes fondamentales du travail; zone de libre-échange continentale africaine; intégration systémique; moralité publique; régionalisme social.

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