UPSC Essentials: One word a day – SCO

Subject: International Relations

Relevance: It is an important international organization with India, Pakistan, Russia and China as its members. India has raised the issue of terrorism from this platform. Also, often it is questioned whether SCO can stabilize the situation in Afghanistan. With Asia being the focal point of geopolitics, any organization in this region is important for prelims and mains. Do not miss to solve the MCQ below.

Why in news?

—Raksha Mantri during Defence Ministers’ meet in Uzbekistan said that SCO member states must fight together & eliminate terrorism in all its forms. He said –

“Terrorism is one of the most serious challenges to global peace and security. India reiterates its resolve to fight all forms of terrorism and make the region peaceful, secure and stable. We seek to develop joint institutional capabilities with the SCO member states, which, while respecting the sensitivities of each country, create the spirit of cooperation among individuals, societies and nations. “

—Raksha Mantri proposed to host a workshop in India in 2023 on the theme ‘Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief – Risk mitigation and Disaster Resilient Infrastructure’ for the Defence Ministries of SCO Member States.

—He also suggested an annual seminar on ‘Topic of Interest’ among the defence think tanks of SCO countries. He said-

“We propose to organise the first such defence think tank seminar in India in 2023.”

What is SCO ?

—The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation.

The main goals of the SCO are following:

—strengthening mutual confidence and good-neighbourly relations among the member countries

—promoting effective cooperation in politics, trade and economy, science and technology, culture as well as education, energy, transportation, tourism, environmental protection and other fields

—making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region, moving towards the establishment of a new, democratic, just and rational political and economic international order.

—SCO pursues its internal policy based on the principles of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equal rights, consultations, respect for the diversity of cultures and aspiration towards common development.

—SCO pursues its external policy is conducted in accordance with the principles of non-alignment, non-targeting anyone and openness.

What are the historical key points of SCO ?

—Before creation of SCO in 2001,Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan were members of the Shanghai Five.

—Shanghai Five (1996) emerged from a series of border demarcation and demilitarization talks which the four former Soviet republics held with China to ensure stability along the borders.

—It was after the accession of Uzbekistan to the organization in 2001, the Shanghai Five was renamed the SCO.

—Note that India and Pakistan became members in 2017. Also on 17^th September, 2021, it was announced that Iran would become a full member of the SCO.

Which countries are the part of SCO ?

—Eight countries enjoy the status of the SCO full members: India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan; four countries — Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia — have an observer status with the SCO, and six countries — Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka — have a dialogue partner status.

How does the SCO work?

According to official website of SCO-

—The Heads of State Council (HSC) is the highest decision-making body in the SCO.

—It meets once every year to take decisions and give instructions on all important issues regarding SCO activity.

—The Heads of Government Council (HGC) meets once per year to discuss a strategy for multilateral cooperation and priority directions within the Organisation’s framework, to solve important and pressing cooperation issues in economic and other areas, as well as to adopt the Organisation’s annual budget.

—In addition to sessions of the HSC and HGC, there are also mechanisms of meetings on the level of Speakers of Parliament, Secretaries of Security Councils, Foreign Ministers, Ministers of Defence, Emergency Relief, Economy, Transportation, Culture, Education, Healthcare, Heads of Law Enforcement Agencies, Supreme Courts and Courts of Arbitration, and Prosecutors General.

—The Council of National Coordinators of SCO Member States (CNC) is in charge of coordinating interaction within the SCO framework.

—The Organisation has two permanent bodies — the Secretariat in Beijing (China) and the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent.

—Russian and Chinese are the official working languages of the SCO.

What is the SCO RATS?

—It was established to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism.

—The Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is the permanent body of the SCO RATS based in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.

—The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure operates in accordance with the SCO Charter, the Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism, the Agreement among the SCO member states on the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure, as well as documents and decisions adopted in the SCO framework.

What is the SCO Business Council?

—The Business Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was founded on June 14, 2006 in Shanghai. It is a nongovernment entity that unites the highly authoritative business community representatives of the SCO member states with an eye towards expanding economic cooperation, establishing direct relations and a dialogue between the business and financial communities, and facilitating the practical promotion of multilateral projects.

—In addition to energy, transport, telecommunications, lending and the banking sector, the council focuses on such priorities of interstate cooperation between the SCO countries as education, research and innovative technology, as well as healthcare and agriculture.

—The SCO Business Council’s Permanent Secretariat is headquartered in Moscow.

What else you should know about India and SCO?

Delhi hosts SCO-RATS meet; Afghanistan situation in focus

—India, Pakistan and other member-states of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in May 2022 deliberated on boosting cooperation in combating various regional security challenges at a meeting hosted by New Delhi.

(sources: PIB, eng.sectsco.org)