Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Regional Counter Terrorism Structure

The SCO has established a contact group with Afghanistan.

That will create new and favourable conditions for effective cooperation between SCO members and Afghanistan.

The members have established an SCO Afghan Working Group to provide a coordinating mechanism for the large number of SCO initiatives that concern Afghanistan.

The SCO bodies are responsible within their competence for monitoring the fulfilment of the commitments of member States to implement the existing agreements and decisions adopted by those bodies within the framework of the SCO.

59 48. Observer status for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the General Assembly

But China s regional diplomacy goes far beyond the SCO.

President Hamid Karzai has been a regular guest at SCO summits since 2004, and has called on the SCO to make combating narcotics trafficking a priority.

The SCO emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1996.

SCO members will make constructive contributions in the context of relevant efforts.

It would also prevent the SCO from turning into a militarized entity.

Mr. Zhang Yishan (China) (spoke in Chinese) I make this statement on behalf of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The SCO has no integrated military political structure, and no permanent operational headquarters.

Agenda item 151  Observer status for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the General Assembly

In December 2004, the SCO was granted observer status at the General Assembly.

1. Decides to invite the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to participate in the sessions and the work of the General Assembly in the capacity of observer

The SCO is also beginning to work together in the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime.

Reaching out to the SCO would certainly seem to support NATO s stated objectives.

A recent summit in Astana outlined strategic plans for the SCO's further development.

Early this month in Beijing, the SCO and Afghanistan officially signed a protocol establishing the Contact Group.

Securing additional assistance from China and Russia to supplement the support already provided by the SCO s Central Asian members as well as SCO observers Pakistan and India is imperative.

True, its members have held joint military exercises and have expressed a desire to build the SCO into a more mature security organization.

The decisions of the SCO bodies are implemented by member States in accordance with the procedures established under their national laws.

And, following the admission of Mongolia as an observer State of the SCO, Pakistan, Iran and India were accepted as new observers.

The SCO has also signed memorandums of understanding with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

It was decided at the Summit that an SCO Afghanistan Contact Group should be established to enhance cooperation.

The RCTS was established in accordance with the decisions of the SCO member States set forth, in particular, in the Charter of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization of 7 June 2002 and the agreement among the States members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization governing the Regional Counter Terrorism Structure.

Internally, the SCO is guided by the spirit of Shanghai, based on mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, mutual consultations, respect for the diversity of cultures and the aspiration of joint development.

To assist the competent agencies of SCO member States in efforts to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism

Compared to the 60 year history of the United Nations, the history of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has just begun.

But the SCO still lacks many essential elements of a full grown NATO style security organization.

Until recently, the SCO s members addressed energy issues only bilaterally.

To formulate proposals and recommendations on developing cooperation in the fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism for the relevant SCO structures

In the middle and long terms, it will be important to include Afghanistan as an observer country in the activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization represents an area which has a population of nearly 1.5 billion people and covers three fifths of the Eurasian continent.

These diverging objectives make it hard to believe that the SCO will ever evolve into an eastern version of NATO.

NATO s focus is on external security risks, while the SCO s members target security issues within their own territories.

Cooperation Organization in the General Assembly

Mr. Chulkov (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian) The Russian delegation supports the statement by the representative of Kazakhstan on behalf of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Kazakhstan already plays a key role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a group that comprises Central Asian countries, along with Russia and China.

The activities of the RCTS are governed by the documents and decisions on combating terrorism, separatism and extremism adopted within the framework of the SCO.

Let me also express my gratitude to the delegation of Kazakhstan for the statement it made on behalf of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization a statement that we endorse.

The SCO focuses on regional security, economic ties, and cultural cohesion in much the same way as the OSCE and EU do.

The convening of a special conference under SCO auspices in March 2009 further confirmed the unique status Afghanistan has obtained.