Free Movement of People within the Gulf Cooperation Council Freedom of movement stipulations in the formal protocols of the Gulf Cooperation Council have had limited impact on the participation of GCC citizens in the regional labour market. Under the GCC instruments, free movement of nationals among the six member states was established as an essential component of the region’s movement towards full economic integration. Nationals of member states were to be given full and complete rights in terms of the right to entry, residence, and employment at developmentally suitable stages in the process. This paper analyses these protocols within the broader construct that stresses human emancipation and freedom of mobility as fundamental human rights. Throughout the GCC, however, states face the peculiar dilemma of supporting full freedom of mobility for citizens, while also severally limiting and curtailing the mobility of the dominant, non-national population. This paper questions how normative debates on the freedom of movement apply to the Gulf region. It examines the fundamental contradiction between strictly managing movement of international migrants while at the same time freeing up movement for citizenry. It will also assess the socio-cultural and political factors within the GCC that hinder the development of free movement of people as a designated human right.