SADC host meeting of the Ministerial Committee of the Organ (MCO) on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation

His Excellency, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, President of the Republic of the Mozambique, and Chairperson of the Organ Troika on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation officially opened the 18th meeting of the Ministerial Committee of the Organ (MCO) on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation in Maputo, Mozambique on the 5th August 2016.

The objective of the 18th Meeting of Ministers of the Organ was to receive progress reports on the implementation of the decisions made at the 17th meeting of the MCO, and to deliberate on the achievements, challenges and strategic issues in relation to SADC cooperation in the area of peace and security, in preparation for Summit in August 2016. The meeting also considered a study on gender-based violence in the SADC region.

In his keynote address, the Chairperson said that consolidation of the regional peace and security architecture is an objective deserving our permanent attention. He also said that challenges posed by electoral processes, the phenomenon of extremism, transnational organised crime and the growing appetite for the resources of our region, among others, require a profound and strategic debate in the Inter State Committees of the Ministerial Committee of the Organ (MCO).

The SADC Executive Secretary, Her Excellency Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax in her remarks, expressed her gratitude to the Chairperson on behalf of the Members States for his leadership and guidance in steering SADC activities in peace and security as well as for the tremendous achievements during his tenure. She noted that SADC has remained peaceful and stable as Members States continued to adhere to democratic values and practices. She further noted that although the region remains peaceful and stable, transnational organised crimes which include drug trafficking, money laundering, proliferation of small arms and light weapons, human smuggling and trafficking in persons, gender violence, remains matters deserving attention.