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The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a permanent intergovernmental international organization established on June 15, 2001 in Shanghai (PRC) by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan. Its predecessor was the mechanism of the Shanghai Five.
In 2002, the Charter of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was signed at the meeting of the Council of Heads of States in St. Petersburg, which entered into force on September 19, 2003. It is a statute that stipulates the goals, principles, structure and major areas of activities of the organization.
The goals of the SCO are:
• to strengthen mutual trust, friendship and good-neighborliness between the Member States;
• to encourage the effective cooperation between the Member States in such spheres as politics, trade, economy, science and technology, culture, education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, etc;
• to jointly ensure and maintain peace, security and stability in the region; and
•to promote a new democratic, fair and rational international political and economic international order.
Internally, the SCO adheres to the "Shanghai spirit", namely, mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations and pursuit of common development; and externally, it upholds non-alignment, non-targeting at other countries or regions and the principle of openness.
The supreme decision-making body of the SCO is the Council of Heads of States (CHS). It meets once a year and decide upon all the important issues of the Organization. The Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) (CHG) meets once a year to discuss the strategy of multilateral cooperation and priority areas within the Organization, determine fundamental and topical issues in economic and other spheres, and approve the budget of the SCO.
In addition to the meetings of the CHS and the CHG, there are also mechanisms for meetings on foreign affairs, national defense, security, economy and trade, culture, health, education, transport, emergency prevention and relief, science and technology, agriculture, the judiciary, tourism, industry, energy, poverty alleviation, sports, etc. The Council of National Coordinators is the SCO coordination mechanism.
The Organization has 2 standing bodies — the Secretariat in Beijing and the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent. The SCO Secretary General and the Director of the RATS Executive Committee are appointed by the CHS for a three-year term. On January 1, 2022, Zhang Ming (China) and R. E. Mirzaev (Uzbekistan) took office as the SCO Secretary General and Director of the RATS Executive Committee respectively.
In 2005, the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group was established.
The SCO has established partnerships with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), the International Committee of the Red Cross (IRC), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Tourism Organization (WTO), the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), and the League of Arab States (LAS), etc.
The official languages of the SCO are Russian and Chinese.
Currently, the SCO countries includes:
9 Member States — the Republic of India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan;
3 Observer states - the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Belarus, Mongolia. In 2022, at the Samarkand SCO Summit, the process of raising the status of the Republic of Belarus within the Organization to the level of a member state has begun;
14 Dialogue Partners – the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait, the Republic of Maldives, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Turkey, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation focuses on cooperation with international and regional organisations.
The current legal framework of the SCO's foreign relations consists of the following documents (in chronological order):
1. Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States (Beijing, 12 April 2005);
2. Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Jakarta, 21 April 2005);
3. Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Secretariat of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (Dushanbe, 5 October 2007);
4. Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Secretariat of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (Ashgabat, 11 December 2007);
5. Joint Declaration on Cooperation between the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the United Nations Organisation (Tashkent, 5 April 2010);
6. Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (Astana, 14 June 2011);
7. Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Secretariat of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Zhengzhou, 15 December 2015);
8. Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (Shanghai, 20 May 2014);
9. Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) (Astana, 9 June 2017).
On 2 December 2004, the 59th plenary session of the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution А/RES/59/48 (agenda item 151) entitled "Observer status for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the General Assembly." The resolution provided the SCO with the right to participate in the sessions and work of the General Assembly as an observer.
The Organisation maintains regular information contacts with the UN Secretariat and the UN institutions represented in Beijing. Traditionally, high-ranking representatives of the UN attend annual SCO summits upon the invitation of the country holding SCO's current presidency.
On 18 December 2009, the 65th plenary meeting of the 64th session of the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution А/RES/64/183 (agenda item 124) "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation." The resolution stresses the importance of improving the dialogue, cooperation and coordination between the UN system and the SCO.
On 5 April 2010, the SCO Secretary-General and the UN Secretary-General signed a Joint Declaration on Cooperation between the Secretariats of the SCO and the UN, in Tashkent. The declaration, among other points, stated the intention of the parties to expand cooperation in communications and information exchange.
On 13 December 2010, the 64th plenary meeting within the 65th session adopted Resolution A/RES/65/124 on "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation" (agenda item 122v) that added to the preliminary agenda for the 67th session of the UN General Assembly an item entitled "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation." (The agenda of the 66th session, September 2011 — September 2012, did not include discussion of the UN's cooperation with international and regional organisations.)
In September 2012, a delegation of the SCO Secretariat led by the Deputy Secretary General attended the opening of the 67th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
On 19 November 2012, the 40th plenary meeting of the 67th session of the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/67/15 "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation" (agenda item 121u) that included a sub-item entitled "Cooperation between the UN and the SCO" in the item "Cooperation between the UN and regional and other organisations" of the preliminary agenda of the upcoming 69th session of the UN General Assembly.
Upon requests of the UN, the SCO Secretariat together with the member states and the RATS Executive Committee prepare reports on the fulfillment of certain UN General Assembly resolutions, on a regular basis.
The SCO has established close ties with UN divisions, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).
In June 2011 in Astana, the SCO Secretary General and the UNODC Executive Director signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the SCO Secretariat and the UNODC.
On 21 August 2012, the SCO Secretariat signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the SCO Secretariat and the Secretariat of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
A Memorandum of Understanding between the SCO Secretariat and the CIS Executive Committee was signed on 12 April 2005.
The document identifies priority areas of cooperation, such as security (ensuring regional and international security, countering terrorism, extremism, separatism, drug and arms trafficking, organised and transnational crime), the economy (trade, terms and conditions for promoting goods, services and finance, promoting and protecting investment, transport and communications, environmental protection, information technology, and tourism) and the humanitarian sphere (culture, education, science, and healthcare).
Regular contacts are maintained at the level of heads of executive bodies. Consultations are held at the level of experts of the SCO Secretariat and the CIS Executive Committee on various aspects of economic, cultural, humanitarian and information cooperation within the SCO and the CIS, as well as on combating modern threats and challenges.
A Memorandum of Understanding between the secretariats of the SCO and ASEAN was signed in Jakarta on 21 April 2005.
The document identifies priority areas of cooperation such as combating terrorism, drug and arms trafficking, money laundering, and illegal migration. Other possible areas of cooperation are outlined, such as the economy and finance, energy, including hydropower and biofuels, tourism, environment and natural resources, and social development.
A Memorandum of Understanding between the secretariats of the SCO and the CSTO was signed in Dushanbe on 5 October 2007.
The document outlines points of agreement regarding the establishment and development of relations of equal and constructive cooperation between the secretariats of the SCO and the CSTO in ensuring regional and international security and stability; countering terrorism; fighting drug trafficking; disrupting arms trafficking; combating organised transnational crime; and other areas of mutual interest.
A Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Secretariat of the Economic Cooperation Organisation was signed in Ashgabat on 11 December 2007.
The document notes that the parties will cooperate by sharing information and positive experience in the spheres of the economy and trade, transport, energy, environment, tourism, and other areas of mutual interest.
A Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia was signed in Shanghai on 20 May 2014.
The SCO and the CICA take similar approaches to today's fundamental issues, such as settling regional conflicts, strengthening core non-proliferation regimes, and searching for joint responses to the current challenges, such as terrorism, separatism, extremism, drug trafficking, transnational crime, and arms trafficking.
On 9 June 2017, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Secretariat and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) signed a memorandum of understanding on the sidelines of the SCO Heads of State Council Meeting in Astana. The document was signed by SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov and ICRC Vice President Christine Beerli.
The memorandum declares that the parties will maintain a dialogue on issues related to international humanitarian law (IHL) applicable only to armed conflicts; help implement IHL norms and other international legal documents; circulate legal information about the IHL and its implementation; develop a dialogue in the humanitarian sphere; and organise events to prevent and respond to emergencies.
The parties will also cooperate in law enforcement, education and healthcare by regularly exchanging information, legal documents and recommendations on issues of mutual interest. They will also cooperate drafting and implementing joint projects and programmes.