Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
Security · SCO
Shanghai gave its name to one border agreement, signed there on 26 April 1996 by China and the four post-Soviet states that hold the other side of that frontier. The Charter followed at Saint Petersburg on 7 June 2002, drawn in Chinese and Russian, the two languages it makes official. Decisions are taken without a vote: a proposal carries when no member objects.
8 countries
Common questions
Questions about SCO
Which countries are in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation?
The Charter of 7 June 2002 was signed by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan were granted member status by the Council of Heads of State at Astana on 9 June 2017. The New Delhi Declaration of 4 July 2023 records the admission of Iran as a full member state, and the Astana Declaration of 4 July 2024 records the accession of Belarus.
How does a country join the SCO?
Article 21 of the Charter opens it to accession by any state once it is in force, and sets entry into force for an acceding state at the thirtieth day after the depositary receives its instrument of accession. The depositary is the Government of China. Before that a candidate signs a memorandum of obligations: the declaration of 9 June 2017 records that India and Pakistan had fulfilled memorandums dated 2016.
Does the SCO vote?
No. Article 16 of the Charter says decisions are taken by agreement without a vote, and are adopted if no member state raised an objection during consideration. Suspension or expulsion under Article 13 is the exception, taken by consensus minus the vote of the state concerned. A member may also record its opinion on particular points without that blocking the decision as a whole.
What languages does the SCO use?
Russian and Chinese. Article 20 of the Charter makes them the official and working languages, and the Charter itself was done in a single original in those two languages, both texts equally authentic. The registration entry at the United Nations Treaty Collection lists Russian and Chinese as the authentic texts of instrument 50517.
What is an SCO observer, and is it a member?
It is not. Article 14 provides for observer and dialogue partner statuses, and the Regulation on the Status of Observer adopted at Tashkent on 17 June 2004 sets out what an observer may do: attend public meetings, circulate written statements through the Executive Secretary, and read the decisions of the bodies listed in Article 4. The same regulation states that observer status carries no right to take part in preparing or signing the organisation's documents.
Where are the SCO's permanent bodies?
Article 11 of the Charter places the Secretariat at Beijing and Article 10 places the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure at Tashkent. Article 18 makes each member's permanent representative part of the diplomatic staff of that country's embassy in Beijing. The Astana Declaration of 4 July 2024 marks the twentieth anniversary of both the Beijing Secretariat and the Tashkent executive committee.
Sources
- Charter of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization · SCO Secretariat. The full text: Article 10 on Tashkent, Article 11 on Beijing and the rotation of the Secretary-General, Article 14 on observers, Article 16 on consensus, Article 20 on the languages, Article 21 on accession, Article 25 on the depositary.
- Charter of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, registration 50517 · United Nations Treaty Collection. Concluded at Saint Petersburg on 7 June 2002, in force 19 September 2003, depositary the Government of China, authentic texts Russian and Chinese, with the ratification date of each founding state.
- Agreement between Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and China on Confidence Building in the Military Field in the Border Area · United Nations Peacemaker. The agreement of 26 April 1996, its five parties, and the notification, reduction and observation provisions it carries.
- Astana Declaration of the Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation · Text issued by the SCO Secretariat, held in the World and Japan database of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies. The declaration of 9 June 2017 granting India and Pakistan member status against memorandums dated 2016.
- New Delhi Declaration of the Council of Heads of State of Shanghai Cooperation Organization · SCO Secretariat. The declaration of 4 July 2023: the admission of Iran as a full member state, the memorandum of obligations signed by Belarus, and the Belt and Road paragraph attributed to six members by name.
- Astana Declaration of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation · SCO Secretariat. The declaration of 4 July 2024: the accession of Belarus, the twentieth anniversary of the Beijing Secretariat and the Tashkent executive committee, and the Belt and Road paragraph attributed to eight members by name.
- Regulation on the Status of Observer to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization · Text issued by the SCO Secretariat, held in the World and Japan database. Adopted at Tashkent on 17 June 2004: what an observer may do, and the statement that the status gives no right to prepare or sign the organisation's documents.
- Observer status for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the General Assembly (A/RES/59/48) · United Nations Digital Library. Adopted on 2 December 2004 without a vote at the 65th plenary meeting of the 59th session.