Southern African Development Community 468072 221452109 2008-06-24T15:39:47Z VolkovBot 3035831 robot Adding: [[bg:Общност за развитие на държавите от Южна Африка]] {{Infobox Geopolitical organization |name = Southern African Development Community (SADC) |linking_name = the Southern African Development Community |image_flag = Flag of SADC.svg |symbol_type = Logo |image_symbol = Sadc_logo.gif |image_map = Map of SADC.svg |map_width = 300px |map_caption = SADC-only (yellow) and SADC+[[Southern African Customs Union|SACU]] members |membership = 15 African states |admin_center_type = Headquarters |admin_center = [[Gaborone]], [[Botswana]] |languages_type = [[Working language]]s |languages = {{nowrap|[[English language|English]], [[French language|French]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]}} , [[Afrikaans]] |leader_title1 = Secretary General |leader_name1 = {{nowrap|[[Tomaz Salomão]]}} |established_event1 = as the [[Southern African Development Coordination Conference|SADCC]] |established_date1 = [[April 1]], [[1980]] |established_event2 = as the SADC |established_date2 = [[August 17]], [[1992]] |official_website = http://www.sadc.int }} The '''Southern African Development Community''' ('''SADC''') is an [[inter-governmental organization]]. It furthers socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security cooperation among 15 southern African states. It complements the role of the [[African Union]]. == History == The origins of SADC lie in the 1960s and 1970s, when the leaders of majority-ruled countries and national liberation movements coordinated their political, diplomatic and military struggles to bring an end to colonial and white-minority rule in southern Africa. The immediate forerunner of the political and security cooperation leg of today's SADC was the informal [[Front Line States]] (FLS) grouping. It was formed in the mid-1970s. The [[Southern African Development Coordination Conference]] (SADCC) was the forerunner of the socio-economic cooperation leg of today's SADC. The adoption by nine majority-ruled southern African countries of the Lusaka declaration on [[1 April]] [[1980]] paved the way for the formal establishment of SADCC in July 1981. Membership of the FLS and SADCC sometimes differed. SADCC was transformed into SADC on [[17 August]] [[1992]], with the adoption by the founding members of SADCC and newly independent [[Namibia]] of the Windhoek declaration and treaty establishing SADC. The 1992 SADC provided for both socio-economic cooperation and political and security cooperation. In reality, the FLS was dissolved only in 1994, after South Africa's first democratic elections. Subsequent efforts to place political and security cooperation on a firm institutional footing under SADC's umbrella failed. On [[14 August]] [[2001]], the 1992 SADC treaty was amended. The amendment heralded the overhaul of the structures, policies and procedures of SADC, a process which is ongoing. One of the changes is that political and security cooperation is institutionalised in the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security (OPDS). One of the principal SADC bodies, it is subject to the oversight of the organisation's supreme body, the Summit, which comprises the heads of state or government. The headquarters of SADC is in [[Gaborone]], [[Botswana]]. == Member states == {{Politics of the African Union mini}} SADC has 15 member states, namely: *{{flagcountry|Angola}} *{{flagcountry|Botswana}} *{{flagcountry|Lesotho}} *{{flagcountry|Malawi}} *{{flagcountry|Mozambique}} *{{flagcountry|Swaziland}} *{{flagcountry|Tanzania}} *{{flagcountry|Zambia}} *{{flagcountry|Zimbabwe}} *{{flagcountry|Namibia}} - since [[31 March]] [[1990]] (since independence) *{{flagcountry|South Africa}} - since [[30 August]] [[1994]] *{{flagcountry|Mauritius}} - since [[28 August]] [[1995]] *{{flagcountry|Democratic Republic of the Congo}} - since [[8 September]] [[1997]] *{{flagcountry|Madagascar}} - since [[18 August]] [[2005]] *{{flagcountry|Seychelles}} - since [[15 August]] [[2007]] {{flagcountry|Seychelles}} had also previously been a member of SADC from [[8 September]] [[1997]] until [[1 July]] [[2004]]. == Challenges facing member countries == SADC countries face many social, development, economic, trade, education, health, diplomatic, defence, security and political challenges. Some of these challenges cannot be tackled effectively by individual members. Cattle diseases and organised-crime gangs know no boundaries. War in one country can suck in its neighbours and damage their economies. The sustainable development that trade could bring is threatened by the existence of different product standards and tariff regimes, weak customs infrastructure and bad roads. The socio-economic and political and security cooperation aims of SADC are equally wide-ranging, and intended to address the various common challenges. == Aims of the SADC == SADC's aims are set out in different sources. The sources include the treaty establishing the organisation (SADC treaty); various protocols (other SADC treaties, such as the corruption protocol, the firearms protocol, the OPDS protocol, the health protocol and the education protocol); development and cooperation plans such as the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and the Strategic Indicative Plan of the Organ (SIPO); and declarations such as those on HIV and AIDS and food security. Not all of the pre-2001 treaties and plans have been harmonised with the more detailed and recent plans such as the RISDP and SIPO. In some areas, mere coordination of national activities and policies is the aim of cooperation. In others, the member states aim at more far-reaching forms of cooperation. For example, the members largely aim to coordinate their foreign policies, but they aim to harmonise their trade and economic policies with a view to one day establishing a common market with common regulatory institutions. == SADC structure and decision-making procedures == The organisation has eight principal bodies: * The Summit, comprising [[head of state|heads of state]] or [[head of goverment|heads of government]], are at the top. * [[OPDS]], the * [[Council of Ministers]], * [[Tribunal]], * SADC National Committees (SNCs), and the * [[Secretariat]]. Except for the Tribunal (based in [[Windhoek]], Namibia), SNCs and Secretariat, decision-making is by consensus. == SADC in practice == SADC is a weak organisation. It is under-resourced, and the member states are not happy to give it the powers that they agreed to give it when they launched the overhaul of the organisation in 2001.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} One significant challenge is that member states also participate in other regional economic cooperation schemes and regional political and security cooperation schemes that may compete with or undermine SADC's aims. For example, South Africa and Botswana both belong to the [[Southern Africa Customs Union]], Zambia is a part of the [[Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa]], and Tanzania is a member of the [[East African Community]]. == Flag == The flag of the organization came from the people of the member countries; a competition was held to design a new flag and in 1995 the new design was chosen. The new flag has a navy blue field with a green circle in the centre, and the SADC logo is in the centre of the green circle. In the official description of the flag, the blue symbolises the sky and ocean that bring water and life, and the green represents the rich flora and fauna. The region's rich gold wealth is represented in the colour of the lettering. The flag was first used in the 1995 SADC Summit at the World Trade Centre in [[Johannesburg]]. == Leaders == === Chairman === *[[Levy Mwanawasa]] (c2007) === Secretaries-General === *[[Kaire Mbuende]] (1994-2001) *[[Prega Ramsamy]] (2001-present) == Comparison with other regional blocs == {| |- | align="right" valign="top"| {{African Economic Community}} | align="left" valign="top" | {{Most Active Regional blocs}} |} == Timeline == === 2007 === *[[2 November]] - rail link from [[Chipita]] to [[Mpika railway station|Mpika]] proposed, providing shorter access to sea at [[Nacala]]. <ref>[http://railwaysafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1874&Itemid=35 Railways Africa - EXTENDING BEYOND CHIPATA<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> === 2008 === *[[12 April]] "Confusion surrounds [[Mugabe]]'s appearance at crisis meeting" <ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/12/2215139.htm?section=justin]</ref> == See also == *[[Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa]] (COMESA) *[[East African Community]] (EAC) *[[Economic Community of Central African States]] (ECCAS) *[[List of Trade blocs]] *[[Southern African Customs Union]] (SACU) == References == * Gabriël Oosthuizen, The Southern African Development Community: The organisation, its history, policies and prospects. Institute for Global Dialogue: Midrand, South Africa, 2006. * [[John McCormick]], The European Union: Politics and Policies. Westview Press: Boulder, Colorado, 2004. * Ramsamy, Prega 2003 Global partnership for Africa. Presentation at The human rights conference on global partnerships for Africa’s development, Gaborone: SADC <references/> == External links == * [http://www.sadc.int Southern African Development Community Official Web Site] ** [http://www.saflii.org/sa/cases/SADCT/ Decisions of the Southern African Development Community Tribunal] ** [http://www.sadcreview.com/ Official SADC Trade, Industry and Investment Review] ** [http://www.sadcbankers.org/ Committee of Central Bank Governors in the SADC] ** [http://sadclawyers.com/ SADC Lawyers' Association] ** [http://www.sadc-reep.org.za/ SADC Regional Environmental Education Programme] ** [http://www.sadc-ecf.org/ Electoral Commissions Forum] ** [http://www.sadcpf.org/ SADC Parliamentary Forum] * [http://www.worldtradelaw.net/fta/agreements/sadcfta.pdf SADC Free Trade Agreement] {{Member states of the SADC}} [[Category:African politics]] [[Category:African Union]] [[Category:Development]] [[Category:International organizations]] [[Category:Regional Economic Communities of the African Union]] [[Category:Southern Africa]] [[Category:Trade blocs]] [[Category:Southern African Development Community]] [[Category:Gaborone]] [[bg:Общност за развитие на държавите от Южна Африка]] [[cs:Jihoafrické rozvojové společenství]] [[de:Südafrikanische Entwicklungsgemeinschaft]] [[es:Comunidad de Desarrollo de África Austral]] [[fr:Communauté de développement d’Afrique australe]] [[it:Comunità di Sviluppo dell’Africa Australe]] [[ja:南部アフリカ開発共同体]] [[pl:Wspólnota Rozwoju Afryki Południowej]] [[pt:Comunidade para o Desenvolvimento da África Austral]] [[ru:Сообщество развития стран Южной Африки]] [[tn:SADC]] [[sv:Southern African Development Community]]