UN-CSTO: The main areas of cooperation. The interview of the acting Secretary General of the CSTO Valeriy Semerikov to “The International Affairs” journal.

07.02.2019

Author: Sergey Filatov, observer with the “International Affairs” journal. 

The meeting of the acting Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Valeriy Semerikov and Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) Vladimir Voronkov. 

On May the 15-th 1992 several former Soviet republics created and signed the Collective Security Treaty (CST). Nowadays it includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.

Article 4 of the CST states: “If one of the Member States undergoes aggression (armed attack menacing to safety, stability, territorial integrity and sovereignty), it will be considered by the Member States as aggression (armed attack menacing to safety, stability, territorial integrity and sovereignty) to all the Member States of this Treaty.

In case of aggression commission (armed attack menacing to safety, stability, territorial integrity and sovereignty) to any of the Member States, all the other Member States at request of this Member State shall immediately provide the latter with the necessary help, including military one, as well as provide support by the means at their disposal in accordance with the right to collective defense pursuant to article 51 of the UN Charter.

The Member States shall immediately inform the United Nations Security Council on the measures taken on the basis of this article. When implementing these measures, the Member States shall adhere to the relevant provisions of the UN Charter.”

So, from the first steps of the CSTO, the Member States declared their intention to act in accordance with the UN Charter. This is important to emphasize now, when we present an interview of the acting Secretary General of the CSTO V.Semerikov, who speaks about the CSTO's collaboration with the UN.

- Mr. Semerikov, considering the fact that the CSTO from the beginning in its basic documents put on the leading role the compliance with international law and the UN Charter, please tell us how you develop cooperation with the United Nations.

- The CSTO’s cooperation with international organizations operating in the field of security is an important and integral part of both the conceptual vision and the daily work of the CSTO to maintain reliable security of the states that created this Organization. This is enshrined in the CSTO Charter itself (art.4) and is the keynote of other basic documents and decisions of its Supreme body, the Collective Security Council.

The essence of this vision is to provide the CSTO with a weighty, effective role based on international law and enshrined in accordance with its provisions, in the establishment of an equitable, democratic world order that excludes aggression, threats to security and other legitimate rights and interests of the Member States. One of the first actions of the Organization after its foundation was the registration of its Charter approved on October 7, 2002 in the UN Secretariat. It took place in December 2003, formally consolidating the legitimacy of the CSTO.

   In practical terms, this step has enabled the Organization to obtain observer status in the UN General Assembly in the next year, 2004, by the resolution of the General Assembly № 59/50 of December 2, 2004. Thus, these were the early stages of collaboration efforts between the CSTO and the United Nations – certainly its main international partner. In purely legal terms, the CSTO bases its activities on obligations under the UN Charter and resolutions of the UN Security Council, in words, opening the preamble of its Charter.

- One could thus talk of the CSTO’s consideration of the UN as a critical link for the maintaining international peace and protecting international law? And, after all, not all large organizations, such as NATO, adhere to this approach.

- In the discussing the cooperation of the CSTO with the UN, it should be remembered that one of the fundamental principles of the foreign policy common to all the Member States of the CSTO, is the recognition of the uncontested credible role played by the world organization in the contemporary system of international relations.

   This is due both to the universality of the UN Charter and the practice of decision-making by the Security Council based on its application, and, within the framework of their competence established by the Charter, by other bodies of the United Nations as a source of international law, and the comprehensiveness of the UN’s interest, covering practically all current world problems.

The process of functioning of the mentioned bodies demonstrates the coordination of positions and uniting of the CSTO Member States’ efforts: it includes mutual support of foreign policy initiatives on international and regional security issues, agreeing approaches to the issues submitted for discussion at the sessions of the General Assembly and making joint statements.

There are more of the latter in the CSTO format than any other group of states. They are also adopted at the traditional working foreign-ministerial meetings of the CSTO Member States "on the margins" of the General Assembly sessions shortly after their opening in September each year. In fact, the UN-platform has become one of the main places where CSTO partners make joint statements.

The harmonization of positions takes place continuously through well adjusted mechanisms of regular consultations of Permanent representatives of these States to the UN in New York, representatives of relevant structures of diplomatic and other interested agencies – alternately in their capitals.

- How do the CSTO and the UN cooperate, please, tell about this system, if it is not a secret?

- No, it's not a secret. Returning to the establishment of the relations between these two organizations, it should be said that the second aspect of interaction between us after receiving observer status was the Joint Declaration on cooperation between the CSTO and UN secretariats. It was signed on March 18, 2010 by the UN and CSTO Secretaries General Ban Ki-moon and N.Bordyuzha in Moscow.

It clearly states that "the United Nations and the Collective Security Treaty Organization are united by a common understanding that, under the Charter of the United Nations, the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security lies with the Security Council of the United Nations".

Further, the document clearly defines the aim of cooperation between these two organizations – "to make a significant contribution to the solution of emerging challenges and threats faced by the international community", specifying that these are the issues "related to international peace and security, in accordance with Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations". The Joint declaration states that it is "conflict prevention and resolution, the fight against terrorism, transnational crime, illegal arms trade and the prevention and response to emergency situations". This means, according to the Declaration, operational practical cooperation on issues of mutual interest, as appropriate, within the framework of UN mechanisms, including "in the field of communication and information exchange".

   It should be noted that the time of signing of the Declaration was preceded by the adoption of the UN General Assembly resolution 64/256 "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Collective Security Treaty Organization" on March 2, 2010. It is quite in tune with the joint document cited above. However, the range of the CSTO activities on the development of regional cooperation, which contributes to the implementation of the UN goals and principles, taken into account by the General Assembly, is somewhat expanded. Its areas are "strengthening regional security and stability, peacemaking, counter-terrorism, combating illicit trafficking in drugs and weapons, combating transnational organized crime and human trafficking, and natural and man-made disasters management".

The resolution offers specific mechanisms for dialogue, cooperation and coordination of the UN with the CSTO. In this case, there are regular consultations of the Secretaries General using "appropriate inter-agency forums and formats", as well as direct contacts with the CSTO of "specialized bodies of the United Nations system such as the Department of Political Affairs of the Secretariat, The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Counter-Terrorism Committee and its Executive Directorate".

- As we understand, this resolution is a living document, adaptable to change, and it is periodically updated due to the fact that the international situation is developing very rapidly?

- Indeed, there is a practice of updating this resolution, as in the case of other international organizations, every two years, reflecting every time new moments in the cooperation of the two organizations (the signing of documents between the CSTO Secretariat and the corresponding UN structures, etc.), as well as the development of the situation in the world (65/122 of December 13, 2010, 67/6 of November 19, 2012, 69/12 of November 11, 2014). The last resolution "Cooperation between the UN and the CSTO" was adopted by the 71st session of the UN General Assembly on November 18, 2016 (№71/12).

During the current 73rd session, it is planned to adopt a similar resolution once again in an updated version. Its draft had been previously agreed upon by the representatives of the CSTO Member States and transmitted to the UN Secretariat in October 2018 by the decision of the Permanent Council of the Organization through the Permanent mission of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the UN in New York, which at that time chaired the CSTO (in November 2018 it passed to the Kyrgyz Republic). The negotiation of the document is still ongoing.

- What other documents, if they exist, regulate the cooperation between the CSTO and the UN?

- In addition to that resolution, specific interaction between the CSTO and UN is based on memoranda of understanding between the CSTO Secretariat and the UN Secretariat units, which were mentioned in the first resolution of the General Assembly on this issue. These are the UN structures that supervise activities which are of key importance for the CSTO tracks of providing security, countering modern threats and challenges, such as the Executive Directorate of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (ED CTC) of the UN Security Council, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), the Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT)

Accordingly, the Memorandum of understanding with the ED of the CTC of the UN Security Council was signed on September 21, 2016, the Protocol on cooperation between the CSTO Secretariat and UNODC on March 5, 2006, the Memorandum of understanding between DPKO and CSTO Secretariat - on September 28, 2012 and the Memorandum on cooperation and interaction between the CSTO Secretariat and the UNOCT – on November 9, 2018. There is also the "Memorandum of understanding between the CSTO Secretariat and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees" dated January 17, 2017 and the Protocol of cooperation between the CSTO Secretariat and the Administration of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The latter was signed on September 19, 2016 during the New York summit on refugees and migrants, held by IOM shortly after it became a part of the UN system of agencies as a UN affiliated Organization on July 26, 2006.

The availability of these documents and advanced interaction with these UN structures allows the CSTO, through representatives of the Member States, to participate regularly and fully in the work of the Security Council, the General Assembly and their committees, conferences, meetings and meetings organized by the departments and offices of the UN Secretariat, where the bases and criteria for combating international terrorism, drug trafficking, transnational organized crime and money laundering, as well as important aspects of conflict prevention and resolution, peacekeeping, refugees and migrants are agreed upon, to exchange relevant information and best practices, to assert international authority important for the effectiveness of such work and significantly influence the decisions taken by the UN structures.

- From your point of view, which of these events was a landmark?

- For example, last year the key event of this kind on the antiterrorist track was the high-level Conference of the UN Secretary General on the theme: "Strengthening international cooperation to combat the changing threat of terrorism" in New York on June 28-29, which brought together heads of relevant departments of states around the world, as well as heads of international and regional organizations. It was attended by the delegation of the CSTO Secretariat headed by me.

Another recent example is the participation of the Secretariat’s representatives as CSTO experts in the assessment visits of the CTC delegations to Tajikistan in February 2017 and Armenia in July 2018, following the signing of the relevant document, named among those listed above, at the invitation of the CTC EID.

- Is there a personal relationship between the leaders of the CSTO and the UN? What can you tell about it?

- The recognized status of the CSTO, the attention to the position of leadership of the world organization is demonstrated by the close working relationship established between the Secretaries General of the two organizations during Ban Ki-moon’s term as the head of the UN Secretariat (2007-2016). Their personal meetings were repeatedly held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and other international sites. Ban Ki-Moon took part in the meeting of the CSTO Permanent Council, CSTO Secretary General N.Bordyuzha (2003-2016) participated in meetings in New York, the UN Secretary General with the heads of international organizations, repeatedly spoke at meetings of the UN Security Council. In October – November of 2016, took place an exchange of letters between the Secretary General of the CSTO and elected UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in May 2017, – up between him and stepped in front of it on a post of the CSTO Secretary General Y.Khachaturov.

The dialogue with the Department of Political Affairs of the UN Secretariat is progressing. Here, the subject of views’ exchange is various aspects of the situation on the Eurasian continent, issues of early warning, crisis prevention and conflict resolution, the state and prospects of links between the UN and the CSTO in the field of political cooperation.

In 2018, the key event of this kind was the participation of the delegation of the CSTO Secretariat in the high-level interactive dialogue of the UN Secretary General with the heads of regional and other organizations, held on June 12-13 in his country residence of Greentry Estate near New York. In November, the CSTO Secretariat continued such an exchange of views with the UN Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs, R. Di Carlo.

The leaders of the CSTO Secretariat – the Secretary General and his deputies – participate in the events of the sessions of the General Assembly, as a rule, of the relevant character for the Organization. For example, in 2016 - in the special session on the world drug problem and the UN-Police Summit, which ended in 2018 - in the high-level meeting on UN peacekeeping. They regularly meet with the deputies and assistants of the UN Secretary General, who are the chiefs of the above mentioned specialized structural units of its Secretariat and the Security Council. Various presentations are held on topical issues of the CSTO activities to Counter-Terrorism and counteracting the drug threat.

So, for the last two years in Moscow and New York the issues of cooperation between the two organizations in the field of peacekeeping have been discussed with the UN Under Secretary General for Peace Operations, Director of the Department of peacekeeping operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix.

In this relatively new and very promising area there has been substantial progress in the CSTO Secretariat developed and executed roadmap "The Formation of conditions for the use of the peacekeeping capability of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in the interests of international peacekeeping activities of the United Nations (for the period 2017-2020.)". And last November, the UN Military adviser on peacekeeping operations-Assistant of the UN Secretary General was present at the active phase of the exercise with the CSTO Peacekeeping Forces "Combat Brotherhood-2018" in Sverdlovsk region as an observer.

The CSTO Secretariat’s dialogue with the UNOCT (formed in summer of 2017) is actively moving forward. To date, there have been five meetings of the CSTO Secretary General, his deputies with the head of the UNOCT, UN Deputy Secretary General Vladimir Voronkov, the last of which ended with the signing of the relevant memorandum, as mentioned above.

-I read that you regard combating international terrorism as one of your main missions. Please, can you say a few words about this issue?

-Certainly. The importance of the UN and CSTO cooperation in the frames of the Monitoring group under the committees of the UN Security Council on the Taliban/Drugs and al-Qaeda/ISIL (terrorist groups which are banned in Russian Federation) seems to be quite evident. The contacts that began in February 2016 allowed us to launch a regular exchange of information and views on issues related to the situation in Afghanistan, which is important in terms of providing security in the CSTO area of responsibility. Last year the Group participated (April, 19) at a joint meeting of the Working group on Afghanistan under Council of Foreign Ministers of the CSTO and the Working group of experts on combating terrorism and extremism under the CSTO Committee of Security Council secretaries.

The representatives of the CSTO Secretariat at the expert level regularly also participate in the activities of UNODC in the direction of combating illegal drug trafficking. For example, in the past year, a representative of the Secretariat was present as an observer at the Second intersessional meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the UNODC event on the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, held in Vienna from 25 to 26 June.

The representatives of the Secretariat also participated in the conference on the development of inter-network cooperation in combating cross-border drug crime, held in March 2018 in Almaty within the framework of the initiative of UNODC and Interpol, and in Vienna in June once again in the meeting of the Paris Pact Advisory group. For their part, UNODC representatives have been traditionally engaged in the phase that was held on May of the anti-drug operation "Canal Cordon" in Bishkek and in the meeting of the coordination meeting of the chief narcologists of the CSTO Member States in Almaty in June.

- Perhaps the CSTO and the UN have other areas for cooperation, which we haven’t mentioned today?

- Absolutely! For instance, cooperation of the CSTO with the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) is successfully developing. The representatives of the CSTO Secretariat regularly participate in conferences held by the Center in Tashkent, Ashgabat, etc.

On the other hand, many of these and a number of other UN relevant structures (the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the Security Council itself and the Task force on the implementation of the Global Counter-Terrorism strategy of the UN) participated in the international anti-terrorism meeting with participation of leaders of OSCE, CIS Anti-terrorist Center, the RATS SCO and the EAG under the aegis of the CSTO Secretariat in Moscow which took place on June 16, 2017.

In short, the agenda of cooperation between the CSTO and the UN is diverse and relevant to solving its tasks, and the achieved level of mutual understanding ensures the effectiveness of interaction, which allows us to consider it a benchmark for the CSTO's relations with international organizations in general.