Sergei Rachkov: Parliamentary Assembly, CSTO’s parliamentary component, plays an important role in all areas of its activities

Sergei Rachkov, representative of the Coordination Council of Chairpersons of Committees (Commissions) on Defence and Security of the Parliaments of the CSTO Member States under the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and Chairman of the Standing Commission on International Affairs and National Security of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, delivered a speech at the Republican inter-agency academic conference titled Conceptual Approaches in the Field of National Security: Transformation Trends and Prospects, organized by the State Secretariat of the Security Council of the Republic of Belarus and the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Belarus. His presentation was titled Model Lawmaking in the Field of National Security: A Case of CSTO Parliamentary Assembly.
In his speech, Sergei Rachkov drew attention to the alarming situation in the world, highlighting the sharply changing rules of the game in world politics, the dismantling of the international security architecture created after the Second World War, the failure to implement the main geopolitical agreements.
“Force and aggression, blatant interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states dominate in relations of states; in particular, the scenario of a modern hybrid war is being used against the Republic of Belarus,” said Sergei Rachkov.
Highlighting the increasing importance of cooperation within the CSTO to ensure the national security of the Republic of Belarus, Sergei Rachkov emphasized “the important role of the Parliamentary Assembly – the parliamentary component of the CSTO in all areas of its activities.”
Noting the ambiguity of the current situation, when “the Parliamentary Assembly in spite of the acquired status of the CSTO charter-based body continues to remain a body of inter-parliamentary cooperation of the IPA CIS with a controversial international legal identity.” Mr Rachkov is convinced that “it is in the interests of the CSTO states to finalize the formation of the legal framework for Parliamentary Assembly’s activity and to continue its development as one of the major tools for improving the regulatory conditions of the functioning of the collective security system.”
Sergei Rachkov stressed that parliamentarians of the CSTO Member States “face the task of approximating and harmonizing national legislation and improving it based on accurate forecasting and monitoring of the military and political situation in the area of the Organization’s responsibility.” The task can be achieved through adoption of model legislative acts and recommendations by the Parliamentary Assembly, which are not legally binding and are not sources of international law. “However, the value and importance of these normative acts is that they are aimed at approximation of national laws of the CSTO Member States on those issues of state, economic and public life on which all states have similar views and approaches.”
Sergei Rachkov noted that the CSTO model lawmaking contributes to the development of the theory of national security.
Model laws have undeniable advantages, which include:
1) simplicity of adoption;
2) flexibility of content, allowing for national specificities;
3) trustworthiness thanks to the involvement of leading legal experts from different countries in the drafting process.
Background information:
CSTO PA model laws are international legal standards adapted to the conditions of the CSTO itself. After adoption by the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly, model laws are proposed to the Member States of the Organization as models for national legislation.
The CSTO Parliamentary Assembly has developed more than 80 documents relating to national security: combating international terrorism and extremism, illegal migration; drug trafficking; corruption; prevention and combating of hostile takeovers; military, information and energy security; emergency response and countering human trafficking.
The full text of the report is available here