UN Adopts Resolution to Cooperate with CSTO on Terrorism, Drugs, and Crime

The UN General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution aimed at the development of cooperation between the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and the United Nations, reports Russian news agency Itar-Tass.

This document, the co-authors of which are all CSTO member states (Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), was presented at the UN General Assembly meeting by Russia’s delegation.

The document emphasizes “the importance of the strengthening of the dialogue, cooperation and coordination between the UN system and CSTO.” It also contains an appeal to specialized UN bodies, “such as the Department for Political Affairs of the UN Secretariat, UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Counterterrorism Committee and its Executive Directorate, to cooperate and develop direct contacts with the CSTO aimed at the attainment of their goals.”

CSTO Secretary-General Nikolai Bordyuzha said at a UN meeting devoted to UN-CSTO cooperation in January, in particular, that “We believe that countering terrorism, fighting against illicit production and trafficking of narcotic drugs, putting an end to the illegal arms trade, organized trans-national crime, [and] preventing and rehabilitating after emergency situations form yet an incomplete list of topics in providing regional and international security that require intensified cooperation of the UN with regional organizations and the enhanced interaction between the organizations themselves.”