The negotiations leading up to the continental free trade area (CFTA) present a unique opportunity to improve the livelihoods of millions of African people. But trade agreements and economic integration do not necessarily lead to fair and sustainable outcomes. Assessing the distributional impacts of an agreement such as the CFTA is therefore crucial to ensure that human rights and trade are complementary. This assessment applies human rights standards and tools to assist in identifying human rights concerns in the negotiation, design, implementation and monitoring of the CFTA, with a view to supporting the creation of a robust agreement that is responsive to the needs of the continent’s peoples