CSTO Discusses Legal Foundations of Peacekeeping Operations

The CSTO Secretariat has commented on a series of inquiries from various media regarding the legal foundations of peacekeeping operations conducted by the organization’s Collective Peacekeeping Forces.

"The conduct of peacekeeping operations by the CSTO is regulated by the Agreement on Peacekeeping Activities dated October 6, 2007. According to Article 3 of the aforementioned Agreement, the decision on peacekeeping activities on the territory of one of the member states is made by the CSTO Collective Security Council based on the relevant official request of that state and with immediate notification to the UN Security Council.

The decision to conduct peacekeeping activities in the territory of a non-member state is made based on a decision of the UN Security Council.

Currently, the protocol for amending the aforementioned Agreement from September 16, 2021, which establishes the order of determining the coordinating state for cooperation with the UN in peacekeeping activities on behalf of the CSTO, is in the process of ratification.

If there are proposals regarding changes to the legal foundations for the deployment of CSTO collective peacekeeping forces, they will be coordinated with the member states," the released statement mentions.