Defense Pact of the African and Malagasy Union
Article I. The Contracting Parties will continue to make
every effort to safeguard the peace of Asia and the world and the
security of all peoples.
Article II. The Contracting Parties undertake jointly to adopt
all measures to prevent aggression against either of the Con-
tracting Parties by any state. In the event of one of the Contract-
ing Parties being subjected to the armed attack by any state or
several states jointly and thus being involved in a state of war,
the other Contracting Party shall immediately render military
and other assistance by all means at its disposal.
Article III. Neither Contracting Party shall conclude any
alliance directed against the other Contracting Party or take
part in any bloc or in any action or measure directed against the
other Contracting Party.
Article IV. The Contracting Parties will continue to consult
with each other on all important international questions of
common interest to the two countries.
Article V. The Contracting Parties, on the principles of
mutual respect for sovereignty, non-interference in each other’s
internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit and in the spirit of
friendly co-operation, will continue to render each other every
possible economic and technical aid in the cause of socialist
construction of the two countries and will continue to consoli-
date and develop economic, cultural, and scientific and techni-
cal co-operation between the two countries.
Article VI. The Contracting Parties hold that the unification
of Korea must be realized along peaceful and democratic lines
and that such a solution accords exactly with the national inter-
ests of the Korean people and the aim of preserving peace in the
Far East.
Article VII. The present Treaty is subject to ratification and
shall come into force on the day of exchange of instruments of
ratification, which will take place in Pyongyang.
The present Treaty will remain in force until the Contracting
Parties agree on its amendment or termination.
Done in duplicate in Peking on the eleventh day of July,
nineteen sixty-one, in the Chinese and Korean languages, both
texts being equally authentic.
(Signed) CHOU EN-LAI
Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China
(Signed) KIM IL SUNG
Plenipotentiary of the Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea
4.1374 Defense Pact of the African and Mala-
gasy Union
Alliance Members:Benin/Dahomey, Burkina Faso/Upper Volta,
Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ivory
Coast, Madagascar, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Rwanda (March 9,
1963), and Togo (July 9, 1963)
Signed On:September 9, 1961, in the city of Antananarivo (Madagas-
car). In force until March 10, 1964.
Alliance Type:Defense Pact (Type I)
Source:Basic Documents of African Regional Organizations,vol. 2,
p. 395–399.SUMMARY
At a conference in Antananarivo, Madagascar, representatives of twelve
countries established a Union Africaine et Malgache (UAM) for politi-
cal co-ordination and also signed a defense pact creating a joint
defense council with staff. This was one of many attempts by the
newly independent African states to band together against both inter-
nal and external interference.
This defense pact did not last long. Eschewing the political and mili-
tary nature of a defensive union, the twelve member countries in 1964
replaced the UAM with the Afro-Malagasy Common Organization,
which would exclusively be dedicated to economic, technical, and cul-
tural problems among the member states. The political functions of
the prior union had already been duplicated by the newly created
Organization of African Unity, founded on May 25, 1963.Alliance Text
The States parties to the present pact:
Reaffirm solemnly their attachment to the principles of the
Charter of the United Nations and proclaim their desire to live
at peace with all Nations,
Recognise the sovereign equality of all States and intend to
cement and strengthen the bonds existing between them on the
basis of respect for their independence and non-interference in
their internal affairs,
Determined to safeguard the freedom of their peoples, their
own civilisations, their individual liberties and the rule of law
and respect for man,
Conscious of their weakness in isolation and determined to
pool their efforts for the maintenance of peace and security in
their own State and in the world, as well as for the promotion of
African and Malagasy Unity,
They have agreed upon the present pact.
Article 1.–The parties undertake, in accordance with the
Charter of the United Nations, to settle by peaceful means all
international disputes in which they may be involved in such a
manner as not to jeopardise international peace and security, as
well as justice, and to refrain in their international relations
from resorting to threats and from any form of aggression.
Article 2.–The parties shall contribute to the development of
peaceful and friendly international relations by strengthening
their free institutions, by ensuring a better understanding of the
principles upon which their institutions are based, and by
developing the suitable conditions for ensuring security and
well-being. They shall strive to eliminate any incompatibility in
their policies, particularly in the economic, social, cultural and
diplomatic fields, and shall encourage collaboration with each
and everyone of them.
Article 3.–In order to ensure more effectively the attainment
of the objectives of the present pact, the parties, by individual
and joint action, in a sustained and efficient manner, by the