In like manner, the OAU also clearly defined circumstances within which military intervention can be conducted by African member states. Under Article II of the OAU Rules of Procedure, African states declared that the OAU would promote the unity and solidarity of African states and coordinate and intensify their cooperation and efforts to achieve a better life for the peoples of Africa, thus promoting international cooperation with due regard to the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human rights. By entrenching the above clause in the OAU Charter, member states unequivocally vowed to defend their sovereignty against any intervention whatsoever. These principles were explicit in purpose and intention, that is, military intervention without sanction of the authorising body was forbidden. In order to reinforce these principles, the OAU passed Article VI, under which member states pledge themselves to observe scrupulously the principle enumerated in Article III of the present Charter. The transformation of the OAU into the African Union (AU) embraced the above principles. In its constitutive act, the AU committed itself to functioning in accordance with the principles set out in Article 4, which were similar to those of the defunct OAU, but were more democratic and more UN-compliant. Under the principles of Article 4 African states committed themselves to the peaceful settlement of disputes and to the rule of law.