For the first time ever, a human rights impact assessment will be undertaken ex ante to the negotiations of a regional trade agreement. The Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) in Africa has thus the potential to reduce possible risks of liberalizing certain areas of trade among African countries prior to their implementation. Once risks are identified policy makers can adopt more easily policies to protect vulnerable groups or they can decide on different policy options with less negative impact. This scoping study presents preliminary recommendations for two policy areas of critical concern to African economies; agriculture and employment. The project of a human rights impact assessment of the CFTA takes place in close cooperation between the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), Geneva office.