Ghana in Search of Regional Integration Agenda 190 the economic, political, social and cultural environment of the Continent through the development of programmes at the level of Member States. The AU, as the case also with other international organisations, is animated by a set core of principles. Here again, the Principles enshrined in the Act do not discard the principle of sovereignty. That principle is retained in Article 4 of the Act which proclaims the other Principles of the Union to include the following: sovereign equality and independence among Member States; establishment of a common defence policy for the Continent; prohibition of the use of force or threat to use force among Member States; non-interference by any Member State in the internal affairs of another; the right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances; namely, war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity and the right of Member States to request intervention from the Union in order to restore peace and security.. An important element of the AU today is the New Partnership for Africa's Development(NEPAD) 228 which has its primary objectives the eradication of poverty, the placement of African countries both individually and collectively, on a path of sustainable growth and development, halting the marginalisation of Africa in the globalisation process and enhancing its full and beneficial integration into the global economy and the acceleration and empowerment of women. The priorities of NEPAD include; • establishing the conditions for sustainable development by ensuring peace and security, democracy and good political, economic and corporate governance, regional co-operation and integration and capacity building; • policy reforms and increased investment in the priority sectors of agriculture, human development with a focus on health, education, science and technology and skills development, building and improving infrastructure, including Information and Communication Technology(ICT), energy, transport, water and sanitation, promoting diversification of production and exports, particularly with respect to agro-industries, manufacturing, mining, mineral beneficiation and tourism and • mobilising resources by increasing domestic savings and investments, improving management of public revenue and expenditure, improving Africa's share in global trade, attracting foreign direct investment and increasing capital flows through further debt reduction and increase overseas development agency flows. 228 The NEPAD strategic framework document arose from a mandate given to the 5 initiating Heads of State(Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa) by the Organization of African Unity(OAU) to develop an integrated socio­economic development framework for Africa. The 37 th Summit of the OAU in July 2001 formally adopted the strategic framework document. For relevant NEPAD documents, see http://www.nepad.org