Meeting of the UN Security Council. Photo from the archive The role of the CSTO, SCO and CIS in maintaining international peace was discussed at the UN Security Council Peace and Security
On Friday, Russia, which holds the presidency of the UN Security Council in July, held a debate in the Council on the topic of UN cooperation with regional organizations. The meeting participants discussed the role of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in maintaining international peace and security. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergei Vershinin.
Cooperation with the UN
In her speech, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support Elizabeth Spehar highly appreciated the role of UN cooperation with regional and subregional organizations, including the CSTO, SCO and CIS. She emphasized that the UN chief attaches great importance to this issue and recalled his recent participation in the SCO summit in Astana.
Rivalry between countries
Spehar noted with concern the growing tensions in many regions of the world, including Eurasia, emphasizing that rivalry between countries leads to the undermining of the principles of the UN Charter, loss of trust and conflicts. “As for Ukraine,” the speaker said, “the Secretary-General has repeatedly noted that the time has come to establish a just peace based on the UN Charter, international law and resolutions of the General Assembly. The UN, for its part, is ready to support all constructive efforts and initiatives aimed at achieving this goal.”
CIS: 30 years in observer status at the UN
The Commonwealth of Independent States was founded in 1991. In fact, the organization became the legal successor of the USSR. Every two years, the General Assembly adopts resolutions on cooperation between the UN and the CSTO, the CIS and the SCO, which highlight the key role of these regional structures in maintaining stability in their respective areas of responsibility.
Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Independent States Sergei Lebedev, speaking at the Security Council, stated that relations with the UN on current international problems in the CIS are given top priority. “This principled position was once again confirmed on April 12, 2024 in the Statement of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the CIS member states on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the granting of observer status to the CIS at the UN General Assembly,” he noted.
CIS and security in Eurasia
The concept note prepared by the Russian Federation for today’s Security Council meeting states that the CIS’s broad powers allow the organization to respond to security challenges taking into account various aspects, including military, socio-economic, cultural and humanitarian. The CIS is implementing a number of programs aimed at strengthening border security at external borders, combating terrorism and extremism, and combating crime. A new program in the field of deradicalization is currently being agreed upon.
CSTO: Strengthening Peace
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), established in 1992, is a multi-vector structure capable of confronting modern challenges and threats, the concept note notes. Speaking at the Security Council, CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov said that the Organization is aimed at effectively fulfilling its statutory tasks in the area of responsibility and has the necessary potential for this. “Among its main objectives are the consolidation of peace, the strengthening of international and regional security, and the protection of the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of member states on a collective basis,” he added.
On behalf of the CSTO, Tasmagambetov supported the Russian initiative to form a new continent-wide architecture of Eurasia. He also said that the CSTO continues to make efforts to achieve lasting peace in the South Caucasus, noting the “positive results” of the May meeting in Astana between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The CSTO attaches particular importance to the issues of stabilization in Afghanistan and cooperation with UN structures in this direction.
The SCO is the largest regional organization in the world
The total population of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries is approximately 3.5 billion people. It is the largest regional organization in the world. The SCO was founded in 2001 by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, and later India, Pakistan and Iran joined. In early July, Belarus became a full member of the SCO.
Speaking at a meeting of the UN Security Council, SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming said that since its creation the organization has considered the issue of maintaining international and regional safety is a priority. “A fair and multipolar world order, as well as joint work to build a new type of international relations based on mutual respect, justice and mutually beneficial cooperation, are in the interests of all humanity,” emphasized Zhang Min.
Russia proposes a new security architecture in Eurasia
“For a long time, the West has ignored the strategic interests of dozens of states, including Russia,” noted Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Vershinin. – This provoked a number of international and regional conflicts from Europe and Africa to the Middle East and Asia. Only recently the result of such a destructive line has become a large-scale Ukrainian crisis.”
Against this background, he continued, “the demand for a new security architecture in Eurasia is obvious.” He recalled the initiative put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 14 to “form a continent-wide system of equal and indivisible security, within which there will be no room for zero-sum games and attempts to ensure one’s security at the expense of others.”
UK: participation in military alliances should be voluntary
UK Permanent Representative to the UN Barbara Woodward said regional organizations must respond sensitively to the needs of its members and to act in accordance with the UN Charter. All states have the sovereign right to choose their own security partnerships, including military alliances, she said. And participation in them cannot be forced. “Collective security,” the diplomat continued, does not mean a sphere of influence, and “cooperation” does not require the subordination of sovereignty.
“Russia’s aggression against Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014 and 2022 undermines the role of regional organizations,” she emphasized, recalling that Georgia and Ukraine left the CIS due to a violation of their sovereignty.
The United Kingdom, Woodward added, “warmly welcomes” the active engagement of Central Asian countries with the UN and values its own relations with states in the region.
US condemns “attempts to legitimize war in Ukraine”
“We are proud of our strong partnerships with regional organizations around the world, including in Central Asia” , noted US Permanent Representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield. As part of this partnership, she said, the United States supports the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries, and respects their right to pursue their interests “without external coercion.”
United States v. for regional organizations to restrict human rights. “I am referring to SCO member states that have persecuted individuals for speaking out about the importance of regional political autonomy,” the diplomat said.
She blamed “certain regional organizations mentioned today in the Security Council,” that they are pursuing a policy that is incompatible with the principles of the UN Charter. “Let’s call this policy by its proper name: a clear attempt to give false legitimacy to Russia’s brutal war of aggression and to deflect responsibility for Russia’s atrocities against the people of Ukraine,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield.