SADC MUTUAL DEFENCE PACT (MDP)

1. SADC MUTUAL DEFENCE PACT (MDP) Presentation by the Department of Defence to the Joint Standing Committee on Defence, 14 November 2003.

2. SADC MDP BACKGROUND • The development of the SADC MDP is linked to the overall changes that were taking place within SADC. As this regional body grappled with the challenges on how best to ensure a prosperous region, a need was identified to create a climate inducive to such prosperity. Although SADC is a predominantly economic body, the need to have a climate of peace and security to ensure positive development was recognised. It is in this context that the MDP was developed. • The discussion on developing a MDP started as far back as 1996. However, a number of factors within SADC, such as differing views on setting up and operating a SADC security arm delayed the creation of the MDP and the outbreak of war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

3. SADC MDP BACKGROUND (CONT) • The provision for the MDP is found in the SADC Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Co - operation (PPDSC) which states that, • “… the Organ shall… consider the development of a collective security capacity and conclude a Mutual Defence Pact to respond to external military threats” (Article 2 (2) (h). The PPDSC further provides that, “(e)xternal military threats to the Region shall be addressed through collective security arrangements to be agreed upon in a Mutual Defence Pact among the State Parties” (Article 11 (3) (e). These provisions show that the MDP is aimed at dealing with threats external to the region. • The SADC MDP was signed by SADC HoSG Summit held in Dar - es - Saalam, Tanzania in 2003. 12 out of 14 SADC member states have

4. SADC MDP • signed the MDP. Only Angola and Seychelles have not signed. It will only come into effect once two thirds of Member States have deposited instruments of ratification. • The objective of the MDP is to operationalise the mechanisms of the Organ for mutual co-operation in politics, defence and security matters (Article 2 of the SADC MDP). • In analysing the MDP, care should be taken not to see this instrument in isolation from the other conflict resolution mechanisms of SADC. The various provisions of the MDP are dealt with below. • The MDP provides for a peaceful resolution of international disputes (Article 3). This article re - inforces the primacy of the UN Charter.

5. SADC MDP (CONT) • Article 4 states, “In order to effectively achieve the objectives of this Pact, State Parties shall individually and collectively, by means of continuous co-operation and assistance, maintain and develop their individual and collective capacity to maintain peace, stability and security”. Member states are required by this provision to put in place mechanisms to prepare for their common defence. • One of the principal provisions of the MDP is that member states shall collectively respond in any manner they deem appropriate in the event of an attack on a member state (Article 6). This article gives member states the opportunity of deciding how to respond to such armed attack. It is not prescriptive but recognises that member states do not have the same capacity and therefore may not respond in a uniform manner to an attack. Most importantly, it projects a unified SADC security front. Some political commentators argue that such arrangements are a deterrent to potential aggressors.

6. SADC MDP (CONT) • This provision is similar to Article 5 of the NATO treaty which reads as follows, “The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self - defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Naitons, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area”. It is this section that was invoked when the US was attacked on 9 September 2000.

7. SADC MDP (CONT) • Article 7 (2) of the MDP provides that, “No action shall be taken by any State Party in terms of this Pact, save at the State Party’s own request or with its consent, except where the Summit decides that action needs to be taken in accordance with the Protocol”. • This clause confirms the principle of non - interference in the affairs of another country. However, in the realm of international politics, there is a constant battle to balance the principle of non - interference and the interference in the affairs of other countries to pursue democratic values. SADC as a region is also facing this challenge and it is not an easy one to resolve.

8. SADC MDP (CONT) • Article 8 states that, “The State Parties undertake not to nurture, harbour or support any person, group of persons or institution whose aim is to destabilise the political, military, territorial, economic or social security of a Party”. The comment raised in respect of this article is that it reinforces the principle of collective self - defence which provides that states make provisions to protect themselves from external aggression and are not concerned with internal practises of each other. • Article 9 encourages member states to ensure that in the event of an attack against a member, others will be able to respond as they will have prepared for such an eventuality. This article can be interpreted to be re - inforcing the provisions of Article 4. Member states are encouraged to prepare for their own defence.

9. SADC MDP (CONT) • The rest of the provisions are more about administrative arrangements in respect of the MDP. • The provisions of the MDP have the following added implications: • unconditional commitment of member states, • defence against State and non-State actor, • an audit of member state’s military capability and structures to fulfil MDP missions. Reference herein is on sketching a package of capabilities needed to carry out rapid, professional and effective operations, • engagement strategy for defence related industry on how it can contribute to the realisation of the goals of the MDP, • burden sharing. How are smaller states with fewer resources to contribute to the Pact. • political will and ability to implement provisions of the MDP.

10. RELATIONS WITH CONTINENTAL MECHANISMS • The African Union, in line with the UN approach, encourages regional (continental in UN terminology) solutions to problems facing member states. For the African Union, this approach is re-inforced in the still developing Common African Defence and Security Policy, on the proposed approach to be adopted by the Peace and Security Council on its activation, in the ongoing discussions on the soon to be established Africa Standby Force, etc. • The MDP also recognises the primacy of the UN Charter in the resolution of disputes. This is reiterated in Articles 3, 15 and 21 of the MDP.

11. QUESTIONS