Joint Statement of the SCO in 2002
( 2003-05-28 15:38 )

Joint Statement by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

7 January 2002, Beijing

The ministers of foreign affairs of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held an extraordinary meeting in Beijing on January 7, 2002, during which, having discussed the current topical problems of regional security and cooperation and development prospects of the SCO, they reached a broad mutual understanding and adopted the following joint statement:

I

1. The development of recent events in Afghanistan has convincingly attested to the correctness and far-sightedness of the policy chosen by the SCO for the priority fostering of cooperation among its member states in the fields of maintaining regional security and stability and combating three threats - terrorism, separatism and extremism.

After the events of September 11, 2001, the heads of government of the SCO member states promptly came up with a special statement strongly condemning this terrorist act. The SCO was one of the first international organizations to react to the events of September 11.

2. As close neighbors of Afghanistan we had for an extended time been directly subjected to the terrorist and narco threats emanating from its territory long before the events of September 11 and had repeatedly warned the international community of the danger posed by those threats. That was why the SCO member states became actively involved in the antiterrorist coalition and took measures to further intensify the SCO's work on the antiterrorist front.

3. The SCO member states fully support the measures provided by UN SC resolutions 1373, 1377, 1383 and 1386 and engage in full-scale cooperation with the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the Security Council, established by resolution 1373.

II

1. The SCO member states welcome the deliverance of the Afghan people from the Taliban regime closely connected with international terrorism, and support the efforts by Afghanistan, the states of the region and the whole international community for the provision of reliable guarantees that Afghanistan should never again be a center of spread of terrorism, separatism, extremism and narcotics.

2. We want Afghanistan to become a peaceful and neutral state respecting and observing human rights and basic freedoms, maintaining friendly relations with all neighbor countries and complying with its international obligations.

3. The SCO member states support the Bonn Agreement of December 5, 2001, and the efforts by the Afghan people to establish a widely representative authority with the participation of the various ethnic groups. We will render vigorous support to the Interim Administration of Afghanistan.

At the same time we believe that only the first step has been made on the difficult road of a post-crisis dispensation in Afghanistan. We call upon the international community to cooperate within the UN with a view to preventing a new destabilization of the situation in Afghanistan that could jeopardize the process of political settlement. We call upon all the Afghans participating in this process to act on the basis of cooperation, not of confrontation.

4. The determination of a future political dispensation in Afghanistan, and the choice of a structure and character of the bodies of power is an inalienable right of the Afghan people itself. All members of the international community should respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and state unity of Afghanistan and avoid any interference in its internal affairs, thus creating favorable external conditions for the normal development of Afghan society. Any attempts to impose on Afghanistan some or other forms of government, and the drawing of the country into the sphere of somebody's influence may lead to a new crisis in and around Afghanistan.

5. We underscore the necessity of close cooperation by the International Security Assistance Force with the Interim Administration of Afghanistan. The operations of the International Security Assistance Force should be carried out in accordance with the UN Security Council mandate and with the consent of the lawful authorities of Afghanistan.

6. The SCO member states support the rendering of extensive international humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people and intend to make their contribution to these efforts, both in their own relief deliveries and in the provision of transport corridors for supplies from other countries and international organizations.

7. The SCO member states are in favor of continued broad international efforts under the aegis of the UN, aimed at Afghanistan's economic reconstruction. We have also agreed that the SCO member states will participate in economic reconstruction projects for Afghanistan, acting both on their own and within the framework of the UN.

III

1. The failure of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan does not mean the automatic liquidation of formations and groups of international terrorism. We condemn and are decisively fighting terrorism in all of its manifestations, and stand against the use of terrorist methods to achieve political aims. We are determined to carry on efforts to neutralize the existing terrorist threat to the greatest extent possible, including in the territories of our countries, and call upon the international community to render us appropriate support.

2. The SCO member states firmly support the view that counteraction against terrorism, which has no particular national or religious affiliation, should not be identified with a struggle against any religion, freedom of religion, specific countries or nationalities. An effective fight against the threat of terrorism at all levels - global, regional and national - should be ensured. This fight should be devoid of tendentiousness and "double standards." All SCO member states are equally concerned by the terrorist menace and treat with understanding the actions of member states to combat it, regarding them as an important integral part of the international struggle against terrorism.

3. The SCO member states are unanimous in the view that the leading role in the international struggle against terrorism belongs to the UN and its Security Council. All antiterrorist operations should be in line with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and other universally recognized rules of international law, their scope may not be extended arbitrarily, and they must not be accompanied by interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states. They ought to be generally consonant with the long-term interests of maintaining peace in the region and throughout the world.

4. We believe that current developments in the situation urgently demand of the international community a speedy elaboration of a Comprehensive Convention Against International Terrorism and a Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, acceptable to all sides.

5. The SCO member states believe that the global system of counteraction against terrorism should be based on regional, sub-regional and national structures and firmly intend to complete the creation of a SCO antiterrorist structure in Bishkek in the near future. They express hope that similar structures will also be established within other regional and sub-regional associations, which will contribute to the international struggle against terrorism.

6. We call upon the international community to develop a concept of security of a new type on the principles of reciprocal trust, mutual benefit, equality and cooperation, conducive to resolving questions of development and the problems of regional conflicts, to a radical weakening of the factors undermining security and to the eradication of sources of terrorism.

7. The SCO member states express serious concern over the growth of tensions between India and Pakistan. We hope both countries will exercise restraint and not allow the situation to deteriorate further, and that they will resume a political dialogue with a view to a proper settlement of the problem and combine their efforts in the struggle against the global terrorist threat.

IV

1. The SCO is an open structure. We are ready for close cooperation with neighbor states and with extra-regional states and associations in the matter of ensuring security and stability in our region. The SCO is ready for a constructive dialogue and cooperation with the Interim Administration of Afghanistan and future Afghan power structures and calls upon the lawful Afghan leaders to closely cooperate with the SCO.

2. The process of Afghan settlement offers a unique historic chance for the attainment of a lasting peace and stability in the region. The SCO is determined to make a substantial contribution to achieving this noble goal.

3. The ministers of foreign affairs of the SCO member states discussed in detail the prospects for the activities of the Organization in all top-priority areas.

We believe that a broadening of confidence measures, political coordination, commercial-and-economic and investment cooperation and cultural and humanitarian ties within the SCO is one of the most important prerequisites for the consolidation of regional security and stability.

4. Based on this, we will exert practical efforts to accomplish the tasks of regional security and development and simultaneously accelerate the organizational formation of the SCO and its structures for the next summit of the Organization in St. Petersburg in June 2002 in accordance with the instructions of the Heads of State and Government. We are confident that this will contribute to transforming the SCO into an important element of the maintenance of regional security and development.

THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF TAJIKISTAN

THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN