Cooperation between United Nations, Regional Blocs Will Be Critical in Defusing Evolving Threats, Says Secretary-General, Opening Security Council Debate
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ opening remarks to the Security Council open debate on cooperation between the United Nations and the Collective Security Treaty Organization, in New York today:
I welcome this opportunity to address the Security Council on the cooperation between the United Nations and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). My thanks to the Russian presidency for organizing this open debate.
Cooperation with regional organizations is in the core of UN activities and enshrined in the United Nations Charter. Our founders understood that no single organization can alone ensure peace, security and development in a complex and rapidly changing world. It requires partnership across all levels — from the local to the regional to the global. Now, more than ever, a more effective United Nations depends on stronger and deeper cooperation with regional organizations.
The CSTO has been an important partner for the United Nations. Several memoranda of understanding and protocols on cooperation between the CSTO and various UN entities are testament to the increasing depth and breadth of our relationship – notably in the areas of counter-terrorism, drugs and crime, refugees and peace and security.
Biennial resolutions of the General Assembly welcome and note with appreciation our partnership. And I am pleased that — since the signing of the Joint Declaration on Cooperation between the United Nations and the CSTO in 2010 — we have continuously strengthened our ties and deepened our response to regional challenges.
On the tenth anniversary of the Joint Declaration, Secretary-General [Stanislav] Zas and I reaffirmed our commitment to enhance the scope of our cooperation even further. We identified a number of key areas including: early warning; conflict prevention and resolution; peacekeeping; preventing and countering terrorism; the fight against international crime and illicit arms trafficking; disaster preparedness and response; and information-sharing.
Let me briefly touch on three priority areas for strengthening relations across the peace and security spectrum.
First, cooperation on conflict prevention, counter-terrorism and counter‑narcotics. The United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia has been working in close partnership with the CSTO to address the root causes of potential conflict and develop shared solutions to shared problems.
Today, good working relations between the CSTO and our Regional Centre enable constructive early warning exchanges and regular contacts during security‑related events in the region. The Centre is also promoting measures against cross-border crime, terrorism and drug trafficking to ensure conditions for peaceful sustainable development — all areas where we look forward to building our partnership with the CSTO.
Second, cooperation on peacekeeping. We are grateful to CSTO countries for their contributions to our peace operations. Further deepening our cooperation in this area will help advance the Action for Peacekeeping initiative and its implementation strategy, the Action for Peacekeeping Plus.
Regular expert participation in joint working groups already provide an important catalyst of cooperation. CSTO experts recently visited the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, providing them with first-hand insights into the prevention work done by the mission, as well as highlighting the potential needs and gaps it faces.
We also appreciate the participation of senior CSTO officials at United Nations Chiefs of Police Summits, as well as ongoing partnership in support of UN training standards. As we deepen our ties in the years ahead, we look forward to receiving further pledges from CSTO members to the United Nations peacekeeping capability readiness system.
The third area I want to address is cooperation in the context of Afghanistan. The humanitarian crisis is worsening by the day. Meanwhile, terrorism remains a constant threat — not only to the security of Afghanistan and the region, but to the entire world. Without determined action, the severe economic contraction, rising unemployment and escalating humanitarian crisis will fuel despair and breed extremism. The threat from illicit drugs and arms flows — as well as criminal and terrorist networks — is increasing.
Regional and interregional cooperation are an essential element in our response. So, too, are strengthened regional dialogue, as well as cross-border law enforcement and judicial coordination. Close cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations — including the CSTO — will be critical in helping defuse these evolving threats, preventing spill-over, promote stability and ultimately save lives.
Monsieur le Président, mesdames et messieurs,
Les trois domaines que j’ai abordés ont un thème commun: le rôle fondamental des organisations régionales dans nos efforts conjoints pour faire avancer la paix et la sécurité.
Nous sommes déterminés à renforcer ce travail ensemble.
Nous comptons, dans le même temps, sur la participation des organisations régionales à l’action de paix et de sécurité des Nations Unies.
Nous comptons sur leur soutien, tant sur le plan politique que sur celui des capacités civiles et militaires.
Nous avons réussi à renforcer notre partenariat et nous nous appuyons de plus en plus les uns sur les autres pour faire face à des menaces communes.
L’un des principaux objectifs de mon rapport sur Notre programme commun est de bâtir – en favorisant les partenariats – un multilatéralisme plus inclusif, plus efficace et fonctionnant davantage en réseau.
A cet effet, je continuerai à organiser des réunions annuelles avec tous les dirigeants d'organisations régionales.
Dans tout cela, nous sommes guidés par la Charte des Nations Unies et d’autres instruments relatifs au droit international des droits humains et au droit international humanitaire.
Ensemble, nous sommes comptables de tout ce que nous faisons et de la manière dont nous procédons. Et nous avons une responsabilité ultime à l’égard des personnes que nous servons.
Nous nous réjouissons d’examiner les moyens de renforcer l’importante coopération établie entre l’ONU et l’OTSC, dans notre quête commune d’un avenir plus pacifique et plus sûr pour tous.
Je vous remercie.