Members agree to create a Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure

The founding declaration said the SCO was not directed against other states or regions and described openness to dialogue and cooperation. This self-description complicates later portrayals of the SCO...

The six states linked cooperation to political multipolarity and globalization, presenting the organization as a way to increase their influence in international affairs. A decolonial reading...

The founding moment placed the so-called “three evils” at the center of regional security cooperation. These terms were politically consequential: they could address real cross-border violence, yet...

The six member states signed the SCO Charter, setting out the organization’s objectives, principles, bodies and working procedures. The Charter gave legal form to a regional institution built on...

The SCO Charter recognizes sovereign equality, territorial integrity and non-interference. These principles respond to histories of foreign domination and intervention, while their use by...

The summit paired the Charter with supporting agreements and declarations. This step changed the SCO from an annual leaders’ process into a more formal intergovernmental organization, though the...

The member states’ Moscow declaration argued that no country could address terrorism, narcotics and other cross-border challenges alone. The declaration strengthened cooperation while raising the...

The declaration supported cooperative international action rather than unilateral responses. Its language of multilateralism challenged claims that security policy should be set by a single dominant...

The summit continued to define the SCO as a regional coordination forum and emphasized political consultation among its members. The organization’s influence rested on consensus among governments...

The Charter entered into force after the member states completed the required procedures. The SCO now had a binding constitutive instrument governing its institutions and stated purposes, creating a...