Higher School of Economics
Public policy department
Essay
“ORGANIZATION OF THE COLLECTIVE SECURITY TREATY
(CSTO) AS AN ACTOR ON THE GLOBAL ARENA”
Done by:
Student of 2nd master year
Elena Shitova
Checked by:
Prof. Nina Belyaeva
Moscow 2010
Origin and challenge
Despite the fact that since the Second World War more than 60 years, the modern world
continues to be multi-polar and multi-ethnic. So far, no finished conflicts of re-distribution of
territories and spheres of influence.
Territorial claims in several countries, existing and potential places of local wars and armed
conflicts, the application (including unauthorized) of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction,
who is armed with a number of states, etc. make it necessary to create all sorts of alliances for
peace-keeping and post-conflict peace building.
These processes are complicated by the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the
emergence of new regions, i.e. zones of influence. On the geopolitical space of the former Soviet
republics are emerging as new actors who were not players in these areas before, and old, but
transformed participants.
One of the second type is the Organization of the Collective Security Treaty.
Organization of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)1. - a militarypolitical alliance that was created by former Soviet republics on the basis of the Collective Security
Treaty (CST), signed on May 15, 1992. Contract is automatically extended every five years. This is
a state type of global political actor.
Why CSTO is a global political actor?
The main argument: Nikitin think so . We studied this organization as global actor.
CSTO have attributes of real actor:
-
CSTO is an international organization (7 countries);
-
Nominally it has an ability to use collective army forces;
-
Take a real part in conflict resolving (Kyrgyzstan, hinders drug trafficking
from other countries: Afganistan).
Historical review:
1
ОДКБ: официальный сайт организации. http://www.odkb.gov.ru/index.html
May 15, 1992, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan signed TREATY on Collective Security (CST)
2
in Tashkent. The Instrument of
accession to the Treaty was signed by the Republic of Azerbaijan on September 24, 1993, by
Georgia, on December 9, 1993, and by the Republic of Belarus on December 31, 1993.
The Treaty says:
The States Parties shall confirm the obligation to restrain from threat or use of force in the
inter-state relations. They shall undertake to settle all the differences among them and with other
states by peaceful means.
The States Parties will not enter any military alliances or take part in any groupings of states
as well as in actions directed against some other State Party. If an aggression is committed against
one of the States Parties by any state or a group of states, it will be considered as an aggression
against all the States Parties to this Treaty (Art. 1).
In case an act of aggression is committed against any of the States Parties, all the other States
Parties will render it necessary assistance, including military one, as well as provide support with the
means at their disposal through an exercise of the right to collective defense in accordance with
Article 51 of the UN Charter (Art. 4). A decision to use the Armed Forces for the purpose of
repulsing shall be taken by the heads of the States Parties.
The Article 6 of TREATY on Collective Security restricts using of The Armed Forces
beyond the territory of the States Parties exclusively m the interests of international security in strict
compliance with the Charter of the United Nations and the legislation of the States Parties to this
Treaty.
The Treaty entered into force on 20 April 1994, was registered in the UN (№ 41878) in
19973.
The treaty was designed for 5 years and allowed the extension. April 2, 1999 the Presidents
of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan signed a protocol extending the
contract for the next five years, however, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan refused to renew the
contract, in the same year, Uzbekistan joined the GUUAM.
A new impulse to the organization brings 2002.
2
TREATY on Collective Security. 1992. http://www.odkb.gov.ru/start/index_aengl.htm
3
Joint declaration on un/csto secretariat cooperation. http://www.odkb.gov.ru/start/index_aengl.htm
At the Moscow session of the CST 14 May 2002, it was decided to transform the CST into
full-fledged international organization - the Organization of Collective Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO). October 7, 2002 in Chisinau, signed the Charter and the Agreement on Legal Status of the
CSTO4, which are ratified by all CSTO member states and entered into force on 18 September 2003
(Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan).
August 16, 2006 was signed in Sochi solution for full accession (restoration of the
membership) of Uzbekistan to the CSTO.
February 4, 2009 in Moscow, the leaders of the Organization of the Collective Security
Treaty Organization (CSTO) approved the establishment of the Collective Rapid Reaction Force.
According to the agreement, Collective Rapid Reaction Forces will be used to repel armed
aggression, conduct special operations to combat international terrorism and extremism,
transnational organized crime, drug trafficking, as well as for emergencies.
April 3, 2009 a representative of the CSTO Secretariat said that Iran in the future may
receive the status of observer countries in the CSTO.
Organizational structure
Today:
CSTO is placed in Moscow. It’s united 7 countries: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The organs of the Organization consist on (Art. 11, Charter of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization):
- The Council on Collective Security (hereinafter — "the Council");
- The Council of Ministers for Foreign Affairs;
- The Council of Ministers of Defense;
- The Committee of Secretaries of the Security Council.
The permanent working organ of the Organization is the Secretariat of the Organization
(hereinafter — "the Secretariat").
The functions and working procedures of the organs indicated above shall be governed by
this Charter and by separate Regulations adopted by the Council. The Council of Collective Security
includes the heads of the States Parties, ministers of foreign affairs, ministers of defense of the
States Parties and the Secretary-General of the Council of Collective Security.
4
Charter of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. http://www.odkb.gov.ru/start/index_aengl.htm
The Council is the highest organ of the Organization (Art. 13, Charter of the Collective
Security Treaty Organization).
The Council considers the main questions concerning the activities of the Organization, takes
decisions aimed at achieving its objectives and purposes and shall ensure coordination and joint
action between member States for the achievement of those objectives.
The Council consists of the Heads of the member States.
The Secretariat provides organizational, information, analytical and advisory services for the
activities of the organs of the Organization (Art. 17, Charter of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization).
The Secretary-General of the Organization (hereinafter — "the Secretary-General") is the
highest administrative official of the Organization and is the head of the Secretariat. Currently, it is
Bordyuzha.
The Secretary-General is appointed by decision of the Council for a period of three years, on
the recommendation of the Council of Ministers for Foreign Affairs, from among the nationals of
the member States.
The Secretary-General is answerable to the Council and participates in the meetings of the
Council, the Council of Ministers for Foreign Affairs, the Council of Ministers of Defense, the
Committee of Secretaries of the Security Councils and the Permanent Council.
The Secretary-General, in accordance with Council decisions, coordinates the preparation of
the relevant draft proposals and documents of the organs of the Organization and maintain working
contacts with other international intergovernmental organizations and with States which are not
members of the Organization (Art. 18, Charter of the Collective Security Treaty Organization).
The Secretary-General, officials and employees of the Organization are international civil
servants and don’t seek or receive instructions from authorities of officials of the Parties.
Each Party undertakes to respect strictly the international character of the functions of the
Secretary-General, officials and employees of the Organization and not to seek to influence them5.
Membership of the Organization is open to any State which shares its purposes and principles
and is prepared to undertake the obligations and other international treaties and decisions which are
in effect within the framework of the Organization.
5
Agreement on the legal status of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Art. 10. 2002.
http://www.odkb.gov.ru/start/index_aengl.htm
Any member State may withdraw from the Organization.
The official and working language of the Organization is Russian.
Goal and activity
Mission
Collective security is the CSTO member states should become part of a pan-European system of
collective security, as well as part of a possible security system in Asia6.
The aim of CSTO is to prevent wars and armed conflicts, as in the case of the outbreak - the
guaranteed protection of the interests, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states – participants.
Main principles of collective security:
- indivisibility of security: an aggression against one country - the participant is considered
as aggression against all the states - participants;
- equal responsibility of States - members of the security;
- respect for the territorial integrity, sovereignty, noninterference in internal affairs and the
interests of each other;
- collective defense, created on a regional basis;
- decisions on fundamental issues of collective security based on consensus;
- match the composition and availability of forces and means the scale of military threats.
Member States shall coordinate and combine their efforts in combating international
terrorism and extremism, illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, weapons,
transnational organized crime, illegal migration and other threats to security of member states.
Among the main documents that were signed in the frames of CSTO7 there are:
- On establishment of the Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty (apr. 2003);
-
On the security of the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of Central Asian collective
security region (Apr. 2003);
6
Декларация государств-участников договора о коллективной безопасности.
http://www.odkb.gov.ru/start/index.htm
7
Full list of documents you can see at http://www.odkb.gov.ru/start/index.htm
-
On the development and improvement of the defense of State - Members of the Collective
Security Treaty (Jun. 2005);
-
On the restoration of the membership of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the Organization
of Collective Security Treaty (Jun. 2005);
- Etc.
One of the recent signed documents was Joint Declaration on Cooperation between the
secretariats of the United Nations and the Organization of Collective Security Treaty that was signed
at March 20108. The paper stresses the importance of cooperation at various levels on issues relating
to international peace and security, in accordance with Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United
Nations. This cooperation cover such areas as conflict prevention and resolution, terrorism,
transnational crime, illicit arms trafficking and the prevention of emergencies and responding to
them. Sides encourage operational cooperation, as appropriate, within the framework of United
Nations mechanisms.
Recently was created new Collective Rapid Reaction Force (RRF). In frames of this force it
is supposed to interact in organization of common military bases, training of troops
CSTO communicate with the UN, OSCE, NATO, etc.
Currently, the CSTO is actively engaged in disarmament and nonproliferation of weapons of
mass destruction (WMD).
Influence on the global political process & General conclusions
Since the establishment CSTO has remained almost unchanged, except for secession from
Georgia or Azerbaijan. Public activity of CSTO is likely good then not. However, common phrases
such as increasing efficiency and so on in the work on collective security displayed us
"a
stagnation" in the activities of CSTO: the organization hasn’t new goals until recently.
There were three stage in development of CSTO:
90s – absence of activity.
After 2002 – new “era” of organization activity.
And today we can see new birth of organization.
8
Совместная декларация о сотрудничестве между секретариатами Организации Объединенных Наций и
Организации Договора о коллективной безопасности, 03.2010. http://www.odkb.gov.ru/start/index.htm
To strengthen the position of the CSTO being reformed collective rapid deployment forces of
the Central Asian region. These forces are composed of ten battalions: three from Russia, two from
Kazakhstan, the rest of the CSTO countries represented by one battalion. The overall strength of the
collective force - about 4 thousand people. Aircraft component (10 planes and 14 helicopters) is a
Russian military airbase in Kyrgyzstan.
However, the CSTO is a political-military alliance that has never participated in combat
operations and it’s difficult to call the criterion of successful activity in the territory of CSTO
member-states, an active policy of peacemaking (participating countries during the existence of
CSTO no one attacked).
Of course, the internal conflict that erupted in June 2010 on the territory of Kyrgyzstan
showed that the CSTO is still not ready for such challenges: local conflict in the territories
belonging to the States of CSTO.
This opposition generally went well, and the CSTO correctly received, which did not enter in
Kyrgyzstan of the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces (CRRF). But the moment doubt brought a split
in the ranks of the CSTO member states: Lukashenko said he did not see any sense in the existence
of the CSTO as an organization does not respond to "a coup in one of the member countries"
(meaning the events in Kyrgyzstan).
Conflict among the CSTO member states in the future could lead to the collapse of the
organization. Today the organization for 18 years of existence is not faced with external threats
repeatedly clashed over differences within itself. In the future the organization will determine the
order, as far as possible military intervention in the affairs of one of the countries of CSTO have not
only when there is a threat of external attacks, but also the internal coup d’etat. This is important in
respect that the instability of political regimes of countries in the CSTO.
Not in favor of strengthening the position of the CSTO is the fact that the participating
countries, in this case, the very presence of U.S. base in Kyrgyzstan in the Meuse, which indicates
incomplete control over the territory of the CSTO.
It’s also important that CSTO in an effort to unit all country's of post-Soviet space eventually
faced with an absence of interest to the idea of such association. Of the 15 countries of the former
Soviet Union, the organization now consists of only 7 (Ukraine and Moldova, as well as the Baltic
states initially showed no interest in the union), indicating a low attractiveness of the CSTO as a
regional project.
But today the CSTO member states less pessimistic when value the organization. In August
2010 the Heads of State of participating countries agreed that "by December, will prepare proposals
to amend those statutes CSTO, which serve as the basis for our activities. It is necessary that there
appeared more effective institutions, perhaps with enhanced powers. "
This means that the organization has high expectations, and it may yet become a real global
actor. Moreover Russia needs this organization as one of the sphere of influence. And this
organization can justify in the future waitings of the founders.