Kyrgyzstan's Parliament Ratified Changes to CSTO Charter

A draft law On Ratification of the Fourth Protocol on Amendments to the Charter of the Collective Security Treaty Organization dated October 7, 2002, signed on August 26, 2022, was considered and adopted at a Jogorku Kenesh session in Bishkek on April 19 in the third reading.

Yrysbek Atadjanov, deputy Сhairman of the Committee on International Affairs, Defence, Security and Migration of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic, introduced the draft law at the session. The draft law was initiated by the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers.

As you may recall, the Fourth Protocol on Amendments to the Charter of the Collective Security Treaty Organization dated October 7, 2002, signed on August 26, 2022 was drafted at the proposal of the CSTO Member States. It adds to Article 8 of the Charter a provision stating that CSTO Member States shall cooperate, including in the area of biological security. This addition is aimed to strengthen the effectiveness of collective countering of biological-security challenges and threats within the CSTO.

In addition, at the suggestion of the Kazakh side, Article 17 was supplemented by a provision that allows early termination of the powers of the CSTO Secretary General by decision of the Collective Security Council.

This protocol has already been ratified by the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation.