Preamble

The Governments of the Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Republic of Namibia and the Republic of South Africa (hereinafter jointly referred to as the “Parties” and in the singular as a “Party”);

CONSIDERING the relative paucity of water resources in the Southern African Region and the need to provide the people in the Region with access to sufficient water supplies;
RECOGNISING the significance of the Orange-Senqu River System (hereinafter referred to as the “River System”) as a major water resource in the Region;

CONSCIOUS that collaboration between the Parties with regard to the development of the River System as a water source of common interest could significantly contribute towards the mutual benefit, peace, security, welfare and prosperity of their people;

COMMITTED towards the realisation of the principle of equitable and reasonable utilisation, as well as the principle of sustainable development with regard to
the River System;

BEARING in mind the Rules on the Non-Navigational Uses of the Waters of international Rivers, approved by the International Law Association at Helsinki in
1966;

RECALLING the Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses, adopted by the General Assembly of the United
Nations in 1997;

INSPIRED by the spirit of the Protocol on Shared Watercourse Systems in the Southern African Development Community Region;

DESIRING to extend and consolidate the existing tradition of good neighbourliness and friendly relations between the Parties by promoting close and coordinated co-operation in the development of all the resources of the River System; 

Reports:

• Agreement between the Governments of The Republic of Botswana, The Kingdom of Lesotho, The Republic of Namibia and The Republic of South Africa on the establishment of The Orange-Senqu River Commission