® SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY (iv) Recommend to the Committee of Water Senior Officials any matter of interest to it on which agreement has not been reached. (v) Appoint working groups for short-term tasks and standing sub-committees for longer term tasks. (vi) Address any other issues that may have implications on the implementation of this Protocol. 3. 4. Shared Watercourse Institutions (a) Watercourse States undertake to establish appropriate institutions such as watercourse commissions, water authorities or boards as may be determined. (b) The responsibilities of such institutions shall be determined by the nature of their objectives which must be in conformity with the principles set out in this Protocol. (c) Shared Watercourse Institutions shall provide on a regular basis or as required by the Water Sector Co-ordinating Unit, all the information necessary to assess progress on the implementation of the provisions of this Protocol, including the development of their respective agreements. State Parties undertake to adopt appropriate measures to give effect to the institutional framework referred to in this Article for the implementation of this Protocol. ARTICLE6 SHARED WATERCOURSE AGREEMENTS 1. In the absence of any agreement to the contrary, nothing in this Protocol shall affect the rights or obligations of a Watercourse State arising from agreements in force for it on the date on which it became a party to the Protocol. 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, parties to agreements referred to in paragraph 1 may harmonise such agreements with this Protocol. 3. Watercourse States may enter into agreements, which apply the provision of this Protocol to the characteristics and uses of a particular shared watercourse or part thereof. 4. Where a watercourse agreement is concluded between two or more Watercourse States, it shall define the waters to which it applies. Such an agreement may be entered into with respect to an entire shared watercourse or any part thereof or a particular project, programme or use except insofar as the agreement adversely affects, to a significant extent, the use by one or more other Watercourse States of the waters of the watercourse, without their express consent. 5. Where some but not all Watercourse States to a particular shared watercourse are parties to an agreement, nothing contained in such agreement shall affect the rights or -13-14- Revised Protocolon Shared Watercourses