- 1 Consolidated Treaty of the Southern African Development Community
- 2 ADC Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation
- 3 SADC Protocol on the Tribunal and Rules Thereof
- 4 SADC Protocol on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters
- 5 Charter of Fundamental Social Rights in SADC
- 6 SADC Protocol on Gender and Development
- 7 SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections
- 8 SADC Protocol on Facilitation of Movement of Persons
Member States: Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe
According to its founding treaty, the objectives of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) include promoting sustainable and equitable economic growth and socioeconomic development that will ensure poverty alleviation with the ultimate objective of its eradication, enhancing the standard and quality of life of the people of Southern Africa and supporting the socially disadvantaged through economic integration, as well as consolidating, defending and maintaining democracy, peace, security and stability.
Consolidated Treaty of the Southern African Development Community
This treaty, signed in 1992, establishes Southern African Development Community (SADC) as a community of Southern African states, working toward greater cooperation on issues ranging from economics to politics and security. The consolidated text includes various amendments to that treaty since it was signed. Article 4 commits members to principles such as “human rights, democracy and rule of law,” as well as “peaceful settlement of disputes.” Article 10A establishes the terms of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation. Article 12 establishes the terms of the Sectoral and Cluster Ministerial Committees, which is responsible for several relevant domains including “politics, defence and security” and “legal affairs and judicial matters.” According to Article 12(2d), the Sectoral and Cluster Ministerial Committee is also responsible for the creation of “permanent or ad hoc subcommittees.” Article 16 discusses the terms of the establishment of the Tribunal, which is responsible for the “proper interpretation of the provisions of this treaty and subsidiary instruments and to adjudicate upon such disputes as may be referred to it.”
ADC Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation
This protocol establishes several details about the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, including its structures, institutions, objectives and capacities. According to Article 2(2), objectives of the organ include an attempt to “prevent, contain and resolve inter-state and instar-state conflict by peaceful means” and to promote the “development of democratic institutions … and encourage the observance of international human rights as provided for in the charters and conventions of the Organization of African Unity and United Nations respectively.” According to Article 11(2), the organ may seek to resolve either significant inter-state conflicts involving a member state, or significant intra-state conflicts within a member state. Article 11(3) details the mechanisms that may be used to achieve this, including “preventative diplomacy, negotiations, conciliation, mediation, good offices, arbitration and adjudication by an international tribunal.”
SADC Protocol on the Tribunal and Rules Thereof
This 2000 protocol establishes the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal, and the various provisions which underpin it. According to Article 14 of the protocol, the tribunal has jurisdiction over all disputes that relate to the interpretation, validity or application of the SADC treaty, protocols and instruments adopted within the SADC framework and any other agreements that confer authority on the tribunal. Important for legal practitioners of transitional justice, Article 15 holds that the tribunal shall have jurisdiction over disputes “between states, and between natural or legal persons and states”; however, “no natural or legal person shall bring an action against a state unless he or she has exhausted all available remedies or is unable to proceed under domestic jurisdiction.” Article 27(3) holds that agents, advisors or representatives of non-state parties may, when they appear before the tribunal, “enjoy the rights, privileges and immunities necessary for the independent exercise of their duties, under conditions laid out in the rule of procedure.”
SADC Protocol on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters
This 2002 protocol aims to ensure that Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries may receive legal assistance from other member countries when pursuing criminal matters, including offenses related to “transnational organized crime, corruption, taxation, customs duties and foreign exchange controls” (Article 2(3)). Article 12(1) states that if a country requests the testimony or evidence from someone in another member state, that person will be compelled to testify or provide evidence, in line with conditions in the protocol. Important for transitional justice practitioners concerned with recovering property or assets of victims is Article 19, which states that “a requested state shall, upon request, endeavour to ascertain whether any proceeds of crime or alleged crime are located within its jurisdiction and shall notify the requesting state of the results of its enquiries.” Article 20(1) states that “the requested state shall endeavour to trace assets, investigate financial dealings, and obtain other information or evidence that may assist to secure the recovery of proceeds of crime.”
Charter of Fundamental Social Rights in SADC
This charter, signed in 2003, is designed to create regional policies and legal frameworks that ensure the achievement of several social rights in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), largely pertaining to labour conditions and opportunities. Article 2(1) states that the charter aims to facilitate the achievement of objectives such as “productive employment opportunities,” “social security schemes” and the harmonisation of regulations concerning “health and safety standards at work places.” Article 12 states that member states shall endeavour to ensure that “economic and investment measures take into consideration health, safety and environmental standards.”
SADC Protocol on Gender and Development
As detailed in Article 3, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development aims to ensure the empowerment of women and other vulnerable groups, such as the disabled, and to address the needs of said groups. Article 20(2) commits signatories to enact laws that ensure “comprehensive testing, treatment and care” for survivors of sexual assault. Article 23(4) states that state parties shall “provide specialized facilities, including support mechanisms for survivors of gender based violence,” while Article 23(5) states that state parties shall provide “effective rehabilitation and re-integration programs for perpetrators of gender based violence.” Article 28(1) states that state parties shall endeavour to ensure that women have “equal representation and participation in key decision-making positions in conflict resolution and peacebuilding processes by 2015.” Article 28(2) states that perpetrators of human rights abuses during war, especially against women and children, must be “brought to justice before a court of competent jurisdiction.”
SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections
This document, adopted in 2004 and revised in 2015, provides a framework for Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries conducting democratic elections and for SADC Electoral Observation Missions. According to Article 2.1.7 SADC countries must ensure “the independence of the judiciary and the impartiality of electoral institutions.” Article 5 discusses the code of conduct for SADC electoral observers, a body that may be instrumentalised by transitional justice practitioners concerned with electoral violence as electoral observation is fundamentally a fact-finding mission. Article 5.1.5 states that electoral observers must “base all reports and conclusions on well documented, factual, and verifiable evidence from multiple number of credible sources as well as their own eye witness accounts.”
SADC Protocol on Facilitation of Movement of Persons
According to Article 2, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Facilitation of Movement of Persons, signed in 2005, is designed to “develop policies aimed at the progressive elimination of obstacles to the movement of persons of the region generally into and within the territories of the state parties.” Article 24 of the protocol holds that “any person who has acquired residence or establishment in the territory of a state party shall not be subjected to collective or group indiscriminate expulsion.” Article 25 holds that if an individual is to be expelled that person must be able to have recourse to “the appropriate domestic courts or tribunals in the host state.” Article 28(3) of the protocol commits member states to commit to cooperate with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration.