7. Strategies for Sustainability of the Plan 7.1 Political commitment 7.1.1 Political commitment is the linchpin and fundamental ingredient underlying all stages of the implementation of SIPO. Member States have to uphold the principles and objectives of the SADC Treaty and the Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation as they implement the SIPO. It is therefore, important that Member States ratify the Protocol and effectively implement other relevant legal instruments, particularly those concerning the Organ, such as the Protocol on Politics Defence and Security Cooperation (2001), Protocol on Combating Illicit Drugs (1996); Protocol on the Control of 43