Southern African Development Community PREAMBLE We, the Heads of State or Government of: The Republic of Angola The Republic of Botswana The Democratic Republic of Congo The Kingdom of Lesotho The Republic of Malawi The Republic of Mauritius The Republic of Mozambique The Republic ofNamibia The Republic of Seychelles The Republic of South Africa The Kingdom of Swaziland The United Republic of Tanzania The Republic of Zambia The Republic of Zimbabwe TAKING COGNISANCE of the decision of SADC to create the ORGAN on Politics, Defence and Security which decision appears in the Gaborone Communique of 28th June 1996; NOTING Article 9 of the Treaty which establishes the Organ; BEARING IN MIND that Chapter VIII of the UN Charter recognizes the role of regional arrangements in dealing with such matters relating to the maintenance of international peace and security as are appropriate for regional action; RECOGNISING AND RE-AFFIRMING the principles of strict respect for sovereignty, sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence, good neighbourliness, interdependence, non-aggression and non-interference in internal affairs of other States; Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation 1