Recommendations on Improving the National Legislation of the CSTO Member States in the Area of Operation of Collective Peacekeeping Forces

Draft Recommendations on Improving the National Legislation of the CSTO Member States in the Area of Operation of Collective Peacekeeping Forces (hereinafter referred to as Recommendations) were developed in accordance with the 2016–2020 CSTO PA Action Plan on Approximation and Harmonization of National Legislation of the CSTO Member States.
The project was considered at the meeting of the Expert Advisory Board under the Council of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly on April 16, 2019 and sent to the parliaments of the CSTO Member States for detailed review, amendments and additions.
At the same time, a detailed analysis was carried out concerning the CSTO Member States’ legislation on participation in and regulation of peacekeeping activities.
The draft included all clarifications and amendments submitted by the CSTO Member States’ parliaments, and on April 17, 2019, it was reviewed by the CSTO PA Standing Commission on Defence and Security, which then decided to submit it to the CSTO PA Council for review.
On November 5, 2019 the draft recommendations were presented at the CSTO PA Council session in Yerevan, submitted for review by the Assembly and adopted at the plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly.
“These recommendations are to be sent to the parliaments of the CSTO Member States to be used for improving the Organization Member States’ legislation in the specified sphere,” says paragraph 2 of the Decision of the Parliamentary Assembly from November 5, 2019 No. 12-4.1.
The goal of these recommendations was to harmonize of CSTO Member States’ legislation regulating the operation of collective peacekeeping forces.
CSTO Member States’ legislation in the area of peacekeeping activities is sufficiently developed and similar, as it largely relies on the provisions of Chapter VI (Pacific Settlement of Disputes) and Chapter VII (Actions with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace and Acts of Aggression) of the United Nations Charter.
Nevertheless, there are discrepancies. The Recommendations are designed to approximate and harmonize the CSTO Member States’ peacekeeping legislation.
The adopted Recommendations cover in detail both peacekeeping and peace enforcement operations, and based on the complex nature of the emerging and developing conflicts, they talk about the complex nature and forms of peacekeeping activities.
The existing trend towards existing multifunctionality trend of peacekeeping operations is also discussed in detail. They include operations to maintain and enforce peace and measures to ensure normal life in the areas of operations and in the area of responsibility of peacekeeping contingents.
For instance, an operation can perform not only traditional military functions (separation of opposing forces, zone patrolling, ceasefire monitoring), but also relatively new ones, such as disarmament and liquidation of illegal armed groups. In addition, such functions as control over the administrative authorities’ actions, monitoring the organization and conduct of elections, promotion of economic and social development, statebuilding assistance, etc. are used increasingly often.
For its effective execution, this multifunctionality also requires a comprehensive approach to the composition of the peacekeeping forces, namely, the use of not only military but also police and civilian contingents.
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