The Strategy of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: A Declarative Nature or Wise Consistency?

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization needs to find new approaches to the development and expansion of cooperation not only in the field of ensuring security in the Central Asia, but also in other areas, for example, economic development, migration cooperation, humanitarian policy, etc. Since India and Pakistan have officially joined SCO as full members, the influence of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has increased, and so have the expectations. Still, the SCO exercises a special approach to the implementation of its policy, which does not allow it to move to practical mechanisms. This situation is particularly acute in the field of migration cooperation and security in the region. The author analyzes the rules of the SCO legal acts, and proves that the Organization’s activities are limited to lawmaking, adoption of programs and declarations. Even though there are some practical mechanisms of cooperation, they are not widely recognized. It seems necessary to begin coordinating the activities of the SCO members, including in the legal direction (ratifying the main international conventions, improving national legislation and expanding the SCO agenda).