User:Thobo~enwiki/sandbox/Protocols

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History
The Front-line States (FLS) were a precursor to the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) which would later become the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It was formed in 1975 by an alliance of countries and national liberation movements to end colonial rule in the 60s and 70s in southern Africa. Discussions to formalize the FLS status as an organization started in the late 70s, and included a meeting of ministers responsible for economic development in Tanzania in 1979, and later in Zambia in 1980. The establishment of the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) in 1980 in Zambia was a result of the consultative meetings. The organization was formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding in July 1981.

Whereas the FLS aimed to end southern Africa colonial rule, SADCC aimed to lessen the economic dependence of member states on South Africa. Its founding members included Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In 1989, the Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Harare, Zimbabwe, decided to bestow a legal status to SADCC by replacing the memorandum of understanding with “an agreement, charter or treaty.”

In August 1992, at a Summit held in Windhoek, Namibia, SADC Heads of State and Government signed the SADC Declaration and Treaty effectively changing SADCC into Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).The organization’s objective changed to focus on regional economic integration and poverty alleviation. In August 2001 in Malawi, the SADC Heads of State and Government signed the Agreement Amending the Treaty to establish the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), the organization’s strategy for the socio-economic development of the region from 2005 – 2020.

SADC Vision
The SADC vision as stated in the Treaty is that of “a common future, a future within a regional community that will ensure [the] economic well-being, improvement of the standards of living and quality of life, freedom and social justice and peace and security for the peoples of Southern Africa (SADC, 2012)."

SADC Mission
The SADC mission as outlined in the Treaty is “to promote sustainable and equitable economic growth and socio-economic development through efficient, productive systems, deeper cooperation and integration, good governance, and durable peace and security; so that the region emerges as a competitive and effective player in international relations and the world economy (SADC, 2012)."

SADC Treaty
The SADC Treaty not only established the organization as a legal entity, but also the institutions responsible for developing and implementing the organization's policies and strategies to deepen regional integration and poverty alleviation. The institutions initially established by the Treaty include:
 * The summit of Heads of State or Government
 * Council of Ministers
 * Standing Committee of Officials
 * Secretariat
 * Tribunal

Amendment of the SADC Treaty
SADC's organizational structure was restructured following the amendment of the SADC Treaty at a summit held in Namibia in 2001. The amendment established additional three institutions to support the organization's new direction to address the challenges of the new millennium. The amendment established eight institutions.
 * The Summit of Heads of State or Government
 * The Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation
 * The Council of Ministers
 * The Sectoral and Cluster Ministerial Committees
 * The Standing Committee of Officials
 * The Secretariat
 * The Tribunal
 * SADC National Committees

SADC Heads of State and Government
The SADC Summit comprises Heads of State and Government of member states. It oversees policy formulation and direction of the community. It meets at least once a year in August or September in the member state where the new chairperson and deputy of the organization are to be elected.

Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation
The SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation is responsible for maintaining and promoting peace, security and political stability in the region. It advises the community on matters of peace, security and political stability in the region and member states. The organ reports to the SADC chairperson.

SADC Council of Ministers
The Council of Ministers oversees the implementation of SADC strategies, policies, and plans. It reviews the progress of SADC policies and plans and provides strategic advice for the completion of projects. The council consists of ministers of foreign affairs, economic planning or finance of member states. It convenes twice a year: in February or March and prior to the summit in August/September.

Sectoral and Cluster Ministerial Committees
The Sectoral and Cluster Ministerial Committees consist of ministers from each member state. They oversee the implementation and evaluation of projects in areas of integration such as cross-border infrastructures, industry, and trade, food security and protection of natural resources. Furthermore, the committees oversee the implementation of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), the organization’s blueprint for the socio-economic development of the region over a 15-year period (2005-2020).

Standing Committee of Officials
The Standing Committee is a technical advisory group to the Council of Ministers. It meets twice a year and consists of one permanent principal secretary or an official of equal rank from each member state, typically one from a ministry responsible for economic planning or finance. The chairperson and vice-chairperson of the committee are appointed from the member states of the incumbent chairperson and vice – chairperson of the Council.

SADC Secretariat
According to the SADC website, the Secretariat is the principal executive institution of SADC responsible for the strategic planning, coordination, and management of SADC programmes and policies as determined by the Summit of Heads of State and Governance, the Troikas and Council of Ministers.

SADC National Committees
The SADC National Committees comprise key stakeholders from government, private sector and civil society from each member state. They advise SADC on the formulation of regional policies and strategies, and oversee the implementation of SADC programmes at the national level.

Subsidiary Organisations
SADC has at least 34 subsidiary organizations responsible for implementing the organization’s policies and strategies to drive and fulfill its regional integration and poverty alleviation agenda. The organizations are based in different member states.They are:

Protocols
SADC protocols provide the legal framework for the execution of the SADC Treaty, development plans and policies in member states. There are currently 26 SADC protocols in force.

For a protocol to enter into force, at least two-thirds of the member states need to ratify or sign the agreement, making it legally binding. Member states that had not initially signed or ratified a Protocol can accede to it at a later stage.

Key

{{legend|#008000|Ratified}} {{legend|#FF0000|Action not taken}} {{legend|#FFFF00|Signed}}

Policies
In addition to the SADC Treaty and protocols, SADC is guided by the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and the Strategic Indicative Plan for the Organ on Defence, Politics and Security (SIPO).

Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP)
Adopted in 2003, the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) is a development strategy to enhance regional socio-economic growth and deepen regional integration through economic liberalization, industrialization, infrastructural and agricultural development in the SADC region over a 15-year period (2005 – 2020). The strategy outlines SADC’s approved social and economic priorities and contains detailed milestones, target outputs, and responsibilities to marshall the implementation of the plan over the 15-year period.

In 2013, the Secretariat formed a multi-stakeholder task force to review implementation progress of the RISDP and to recommend strategies for the last five years of the plan. The Revised RISDP (2015-2020) was a result of this review process and streamlines SADC’s development plan along four major priorities:
 * Industrial development and market integrationn
 * Infrastructure in support of regional integration
 * Peace and security cooperation
 * Social and Human Development - Cross-cutting issues, including gender and development, HIV and AIDS, science and technology, environment and sustainable development, private sector, and statistics.

Strategic Indicative Plan for the Organ on Defence, Politics and Security (SIPO)
The Strategic Plan for the Organ on Defence, Politics and Security (SIPO) guides the implementation of policies, programmes and activities that promote peace, security and political stability in the SADC region. The plan identifies five cross-cutting sectors that are critical for the maintenance of peace, security and political stability in the region and member states: The plan is guided by the Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation and the Mutual Defence Pact.
 * The Political Sector
 * The Defence Sector
 * The State Security Sector
 * The Public Security Sector
 * The Police Sector.

SADC Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap (2015-2063)
The SADC Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap is a strategic plan for the economic transformation of the region over a 48-year period (2015 -2063). Under the development plan, SADC plans to achieve its economic transformation agenda through industrialization, modernization, skills development, science and technology and financial strengthening of institutions.

It has three main pillars namely: “industrialization as champion of economic and technological transformation; competitiveness as an active process to move from comparative advantage to competitive advantage; and regional integration and geography as the context for industrial development and economic prosperity (SADC, 2015).”

The strategy will be implemented in three phases. The first phase covering the 2015-2020 period, focuses on infrastructural development as a foundation for industrialization, increased trade capacity, global competitiveness, and further regional integration. The second phase (2021- 2050), builds on the trade and infrastructural capacity created in the initial phase by promoting economic diversification, increased productivity and competitiveness, and dependence away from factor-driven growth. The final stage of the strategy (2051-2063) envisages advanced science and technologies and business innovation as key drivers of regional economic growth.

Regional Agricultural Policy (RAP)
The agricultural sector is central to achieving food security and socio-economic growth in the SADC region. Therefore, the Regional Agricultural Policy (RAP) aims to guide and support member states in implementing agricultural related programs that promote sustainable and equitable economic growth and socio-economic development regionally and in member states. The RAP recognizes "the improvement of regional and international agricultural trade and market access for agricultural products, the development of agriculture-related infrastructure" and agricultural value chains as key to achieving the goal of sustainable socio-economic development and food security in the region ("SADC Regional Agricultural Policy," 2015).

Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP)
As infrastructural deficiencies constitute a critical hindrance to regional integration and economic growth in SADC, improved infrastructure is seen as a strategy to deepen regional integration and enhance sustainable regional socio-economic growth. Consequently, the SADC RIDMP's objective is to drive further regional integration and socio-economic growth regionally and in member states through infrastructural development. The strategy identifies six investment opportunities in infrastructure that are critical to the economic development of the region: energy, transport, ICT, meteorology, water, and tourism. The plan is expected to be implemented in three phases: short-term (2012-2017), medium-term (2018-2022) and long-term (2023-2027). The SADC RIDMP aligns with continental strategies such as the Infrastructure Master Plan for the Tripartite Initiative, which includes the proposed Tripartite Free Trade Area composed of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and SADC..

SADC Free Trade Area
The SADC Free Trade Area was envisioned in the amended SADC Protocol on Trade of 2005. According to SADC, the objective of the FTA is to liberalize “intra-regional trade in goods and services, enhance the efficiency of productivity, create an environment that encourages cross-border and foreign investment, as well as promote economic development, diversification, and industrialization of the region (SADC, 2012).” The development of the FTA is intended to facilitate fast and efficient movement of goods regionally and internationally through harmonized customs systems and processes to enhance trade, encourage businesses and stimulate regional socio-economic growth. Implementation of the FTA started in 2008 after SADC met the minimum conditions for its establishment, which was the attainment of zero-duty on 85% of all intra-regional trade. Maximum tariff liberalization was achieved in 2012, following the successful tariff phase-down process on sensitive goods.

SADC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)
The Lome Convention of 1975 resulted in preferential market access to the European Union for African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States. However, this agreement did not comply with World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements. Following outcries that the EU–ACP preferential trade agreements were discriminatory to other developing countries and non-reciprocal to the EU, the EU responded with the development of EPAs that sought to meet basic WTO requirements. The EPAs involve phasing out all previous trade preferences and the progressive removal of trade barriers between the EU and ACP countries. Most notably, they would be open to all developing countries and therefore abolish the ACP group as the primary EU development partner.

In the SADC region, six member states comprising Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland (SACU member states) and Mozambique have joined the SADC EPA. The EPA came into force in June 2016. Eight other SADC member states have opted to join three other EPA configurations namely COMESA, EAC and West Africa. Angola is the only SADC member state that has not signed any EPA. The SADC EPA configuration is expected to liberalize 80 percent of its trade with the EU under the final agreement. The remaining 20 percent of trade is considered ‘sensitive’ to external competition and excluded from the EPA.

Within the SADC EPA, South Africa has a unique position as a result of its existing FTA with the EU and its market dominance in the region. The market access conditions for South Africa differ from those offered to the other SADC EPA countries. All SADC EPA countries with the exception of South Africa, for example, may apply export taxes for three reasons: for specific revenue needs, for the protection of infant industries or the environment, and to prevent or relief critical shortages of foodstuffs or other products essential to ensuring food security.

The SADC EPA permits the application of temporary export taxes on products for the purpose of industrial development. The fragmentation between the EPAs of COMESA, the EAC and SADC is seen as a stumbling block for the tripartite negotiations and to operationalizing strategies such as the SADC Industrialization Strategy. An additional backlash against EPAs is that now many European products have better market access in Africa than intra-continentally traded products, and therefore, will impede efforts to create regional value chains and other forms of regional value addition.

SADC Trade-Related Facility (TRF)
The SADC Trade-Related Facility is a financial and technical support programme for supporting member states to implement provisions made under the SADC Protocol on Trade and the SADC – EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). Participating member countries include Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Qualifying national project proposals are expected to be aligned with either the SADC Protocol on Trade and/or the SADC-EU EPA. The project areas that are supported under the SADC Protocol on Trade include those that enhance customs cooperation, address technical barriers to trade, promote sanitary and phytosanitary measures, simplify rules of origin, facilitate trade, industrial development, and trade in services. Those that are covered by the EPA include trade defense, trade adjustment assistance, and competition policy.

SADC Brigade/Standby Force
The aim of the SADC Brigade is to facilitate post-conflict demilitarization, demobilization and humanitarian assistance in conflict areas and those struck by natural disasters. Established in 2007, the Brigade is an instrument of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security to establish and maintain peace, security and political stability in the region. It consists of military, police and civilians from the SADC region and is overseen by the SADC Committee of Chiefs of Defence staff and the Committee of SADC Police Chiefs. The Brigade’s training operations and activities are based in Zimbabwe at the Regional Peacekeeping Training Centre.

SADC has deployed the Brigade in 1998 for military interventions in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Lesotho. In December 2017, the regional force was deployed again to Lesotho following the killing of a top army commander that resulted in political and civil unrest in the country.