The Revised Edition of the Strategic Indicative Plan for the Organ (SIPO II) provides a review of the first edition of the Plan. Based on the objectives and common agenda of SADC, the Strategic Indicative Plan for the Organ, first signed in 2004, provided general guidelines that spelt out specific implementation activities, in accordance with the objectives of the Protocol on Defence, Politics and Security Cooperation, and the strategies for their realisation, covering the Public Security, Political, Defence, and State security sectors.
This revised edition, launched in November 2012, reflects on the milestones and challenges of implementation faced by Member States and other implementing stakeholders. On the whole there has been substantial progress in the SADC region on issues related to political governance, the observation of elections, the establishment of the SADC Electoral Advisory Council (SEAC) and the mediation units. Challenges still remain in the areas of climate change, economic recession, and unconstitutional change of governments, growing vulnerability of national borders, illicit mining and so forth.
This reviewed Strategic Indicative Plan for the Organ, that covers an additional Police sector, endeavours to respond to the identified challenges that would threaten the security and political stability in the region. It also emphasises the development of annual plans by each sector to complement the objectives of the Plan and further requires that strict monitoring and evaluation mechanisms be put into place to review the implementation of planned activities and provide information on a regular basis to stakeholders.
