Mains – 19th Nov 23

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

Why in news?

• Under India’s first-ever Chairmanship, the 23rd Summit of the SCO Council of Heads of State was held in the virtual format. At the end of summit, India handed over the presidency of the bloc to Kazakhstan at the summit.
• During this 23rd Summit, Iran officially joined the SCO as the Ninth Member Country.
• The theme of India’s chairpersonship of SCO is ‘Towards a SECURE SCO’, which is derived from the acronym coined by the Indian PM at the 2018 SCO Qingadao Summit.
• It stands for: S: Security, E: Economic development, C: Connectivity, U: Unity, R: Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, E: Environmental protection.

About Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO):

• The SCO is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation established on June 15, 2001 in Shanghai (PRC) by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan. Its predecessor was the mechanism of the Shanghai Five.
• The five countries had come together to work on regional security, reduction of border troops, and terrorism in the post-Soviet era in 1996.
• In 2001, the Shanghai Five inducted Uzbekistan into the group and named it the SCO outlining its principles in a charter that promoted what was called the Shanghai spirit of cooperation.
• In 2002, the Charter of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was signed at the meeting of the Council of Heads of States in St. Petersburg, which entered into force on September 19, 2003. It is a statute that stipulates the goals, principles, structure and major areas of activities of the organization.
• The goals of the SCOare:
• To strengthen mutual trust, friendship and good-neighbourliness between the Member States.
• To encourage the effective cooperation between the Member States in such spheres as politics, trade, economy, science and technology, culture, education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, etc.
• To jointly ensure and maintain peace, security and stability in the region; and
• To promote a new democratic, fair and rational international political and economic international order.
• Official working languages: Chinese, Russian
• SCO Secretariat: Beijing, China

 

The Shanghai Five: The Shanghai Five group was created on 26 April 1996 when the heads of states of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan signed the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions in Shanghai. The Shanghai Five structure helped speed up the members’ resolution of border disputes, agree on military deployments in border areas, and address security threats. In 2001, the annual summit returned to Shanghai and the group was institutionalized. The five member nations first admitted Uzbekistan in the Shanghai Five mechanism. On 15 June 2001, all six heads of state signed the Declaration of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, praising the role played thus far by the Shanghai Five mechanism and aiming to transform it to a higher level of cooperation.

 

Members, Observers and dialogue partners:

• 9 member states – China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, Iran.
• 3 Observer members – Afghanistan, Belarus, Mongolia.
• 14 Dialogue Partners – Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Egypt, Cambodia, Qatar, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Sri Lanka.

Organisational Structure of SCO:

• The Heads of State Council (HSC) is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO, it meets once a year.
• The Council of Heads of Government is the second-highest council in the organisation.
• The Council of Foreign Ministers hold regular meetings, where they discuss the current international situation.
• Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) is established to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism.

Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS): It is a permanent organ of the SCO which serves to promote cooperation of member states against terrorism, separatism and extremism. It was established by the member states of the Shanghai Convention to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism of 15 June, 2001. Headquarter – Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Each member state sends a permanent representative to RATS. The SCO Secretary General and the Executive Director SCO RATS are appointed for a term of 3 years.

 

Significance of the SCO:

• It represents approximately 42% of the world’s population, 22% of its land area and 20% of its GDP. It includes some of the world’s leading energy-rich nations.
• It promotes connectivity among its member states through infrastructure projects, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
• The main threats which are the focus of the SCO include terrorism, separatism and extremism. RATS promotes cooperation among member states in the fight against terrorism, separatism, and extremism.
• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation consolidates the world’s four nuclear powers – Russia, China, India, and Pakistan into a single regional organisation.

India’s association with SCO:

• India joined the SCO in 2005 as an observer country and became a full member of the group at the Astana Summit in 2017.
• India created five new pillars and focus areas of cooperation in SCO — Startups and Innovation, Traditional Medicine, Digital Inclusion, Youth Empowerment and Shared Buddhist Heritage.
• Two new mechanisms in SCO — Special Working Group on Startups and Innovation and Experts Working Group on Traditional Medicine — were created at India’s initiative.
• Kashi/ Varanasi was celebrated as the 1st SCO Tourist and Cultural Capital of SCO 2022-23.

What is the Significance of SCO for India?

• The SCO provides a platform for India to enhance economic cooperation with Central Asian countries, which have vast reserves of natural resources.
• The SCO provides a forum for India to engage with the energy-rich countries of Central Asia and explore opportunities for cooperation in the energy sector.
• SCO member countries have decided to designate one city (from SCO member countries) as tourism and cultural capital every year under a rotating initiative.
• “Kashi” (Varanasi) has been designated as the first cultural capital of the SCO under this initiative
• The Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) of SCO specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.
• Stable Afghanistan is in India’s interest. SCO is a platform which can play an important role in Afghanistan.

What are the Challenges Faced by India at SCO?

• SCO as a platform is seen by the West as an organization to forward Chinese interests.
• Growing convergence with China and Russia will be another challenge for India.
• Differences between India and Pakistan might hamper the functioning of the SCO.
• All members of SCO have supported One Belt One Road (OBOR) except India. It might lead to isolation of India on this platform.
• Touted as Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ambitious project, the OBOR initiative focuses on improving connectivity and cooperation among Asian countries, Africa, China and Europe.
• The emphasis is on enhancing land as well as maritime routes.
• It would be difficult for India to overcome the burden of geography and make tangible gains in terms of trans-regional connectivity.

Conclusion:

India has to maintain a delicate balance as the dynamics of the SCO are changing. Also, Iran’s entry is an opportunity for India as SCO provides a platform to both the Nations to address the challenges like terrorism, drug trafficking in the West Asian region with cooperation and collaboration.

Key Highlights of the 23rd SCO Summit: Iran has become the ninth and latest member of SCO. The New Delhi Declaration was signed by the member nations, which states that the international community must come together to “counter the activities of terrorist, separatist and extremist groups, paying special attention to preventing the spread of religious intolerance, aggressive nationalism, ethnic and racial discrimination, xenophobia, ideas of fascism and chauvinism.” A joint statement on countering radicalisation and one on digital transformation, where India offered to share expertise on digital payment interfaces such as UPI. The SCO members also agreed to explore the use of “national currencies” for payments within the grouping. The SCO members advocated keeping outer space free of weapons. India refused to be part of the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) of the SCO members’ economic strategy statement, mentioning “interested member states”. India highlighted the significance of connectivity for enhancing mutual trade and trust among SCO member states. India criticized countries that employ Cross-Border Terrorism as an instrument of their policies and provide shelter to terrorists.

 

 

Representation of People Act 1950

Article 324 to 329 of Part XV of the Constitution deals with the electoral system in our country. Constitution allows Parliament to make provisions in all matters relating to elections to the Parliament and State Legislatures.

In exercise of this power, the Parliament has enacted laws like Representation of the People Act 1950 (RPA Act 1950), Representation of the People Act 1951 (RPA Act 1951) and Delimitation Commission Act of 1952.

Representation of Peoples Act 1950 (RPA Act 1950) provides for the following:

• Qualification of voters.
• Preparation of electoral rolls.
• Delimitation of constituencies.
• Allocation of seats in the Parliament and state legislatures.

 

Representation of People Act 1951

It deals with

• Actual conduct of elections.
• Administrative machinery for conducting elections.
• Election offences.
• Election disputes.
• By-elections.
• Registration of political parties.

 

Disqualification of MPs and MLAs

• Section 8 (3) of the Act states that if an MP or MLA is convicted for any other crime and is sent to jail for 2 years or more, he/ she will be disqualified for 6 years from the time of release.
• Even if a person is on bail after the conviction and his appeal is pending for disposal, he is disqualified from contesting an election.
• But the candidates facing trial, no matter how serious the charges are, are not restricted from contesting elections. The fact that the cases are dragged for years in the courts makes this provision virtually ineffective.
• Section 8(4) allowed convicted MPs, MLAs and MLCs to continue in their posts, provided they appealed against their conviction/sentence in higher courts within 3 months of the date of judgment by the trial court.
• The Supreme Court in July 2013 struck down section 8(4) of the RPA, 1951 and declared it ultra vires and held that the disqualification takes place from the date of conviction.

 

Right to Vote

• Apart from Article 326 of the Constitution (that guarantees the right to vote to every citizen above the age of 18 years, unless disqualified by any law), Section 62 of the RPA,1951 also ensures that every person who is in the electoral roll of that constituency is entitled to vote.
• One person can vote at one constituency only and only for one time in a particular election.
• If a person is confined in a prison, whether under a sentence of imprisonment or transportation, then he is not eligible for voting, however, in the case of preventive custody, he can vote.
  • In 2014, the ECI had said that the person under preventive custody had the right to vote, but not under-trials and convicts.
  • However, the Act allows those serving sentences less than 2 years to contest elections from prison.