Collective self-defence or regional enforcement action: the legality of a SADC intervention in Cabo Delgado and the question of Mozambican consent

ABSTRACT Since the emergence of an ISIS-linked armed group in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, questions of a regional military response by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have arisen. Although the organisation’s existing security framework is elaborate, it remains unclear as to whether any intervention in Mozambique may take place in the absence of its consent. Reliance on the SADC Mutual Defence Pact as a potential legal basis for a military response neglects to consider that collective self-defence can only be taken in response to an armed attack and at the request of the victim state. In the absence of either, a SADC intervention would likely resemble enforcement action and may instead be based on the SADC Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation. In addition, for such enforcement action to be legal, it would require the authorisation of the United Nations Security Council.