• India emphasised on the need to adopt a zero-tolerance approach towards terrorism in all its forms for prosperity and development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states.

• Defence secretary Giridhar Aramane put forth New Delhi’s assertion in this regard as he participated in the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan. 

• The defence secretary mentioned about India’s long-standing proposal of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) at the United Nations.

• He also highlighted the concept of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), proposed by India for the Indo-Pacific.

Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism

• Despite efforts by the international community, including those led by the UN Security Council, terrorism continues to remain the gravest threat to humanity. The threat of terrorism is also expanding at a rapid pace into new areas, particularly in Asia and Africa. Aerial terrorism is gradually emerging as a potent form of terrorism while the share of digital mode of terror financing also increases. 

• India is steadfastly committed to efforts to combat global terrorism and has consistently advocated in various international fora a policy of zero tolerance on terrorism. 

• In 1996, India proposed to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) the adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism  (CCIT).

• Largely as a result of India’s active pursuance, a draft text of the CCIT emerged in 2007, which is agreeable to most States. But few States still have problems over a few issues, negotiations for the resolution of which are undergoing.

• CCIT provides a legal framework which makes it binding on all signatories to deny funds and safe havens to terrorist groups.

• CCIT makes it binding on member countries to ban all terrorist groups and shut down terror camps regardless of their stated objectives, prosecute all terrorists under special laws and make cross-border terrorism an extraditable offence.

• There is growing international support for this initiative. Several countries including the five permanent members of the UN Security Council have voiced support for such a convention. 

• Leaders of prominent multilateral groupings, during their recently concluded Summits, such as Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) have also called for the early finalisation of CCIT.

• However, a consensus could not be achieved so far due to the position taken by some UN member countries on qualifying the definition of terrorism.

• There is no universally accepted definition of terrorism or global terrorist or terrorist activities. 

• A comprehensive and coordinated approach is the need of the hour for countering global terrorism, especially as terrorists are increasingly making use of advancements in technologies to achieve their vicious goals. 

What is the SCO?

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is an inter-governmental organisation founded in Shanghai on June 15, 2001. It was founded by the presidents of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

• These countries, except for Uzbekistan, had been members of the Shanghai Five group, formed on April 26, 1996 with the signing of the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions.

• The SCO Charter was signed during the St Petersburg heads of state meeting in June 2002 and entered into force on September 19, 2003. This is the fundamental statutory document which outlines the organisation’s goals and principles, as well as its structure and core activities.

• The Heads of State Council (HSC) is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO. It meets once a year and adopts decisions and guidelines on all important matters of the organisation. 

• The SCO is an influential economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.

Members of SCO

• The SCO currently comprises nine member states (China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan). 

• Iran became a permanent member in July 2023.

• The decision to admit Iran was made in Dushanbe summit in 2021 and Belarus has submitted its application.

• This is the first expansion of the SCO after India and Pakistan were admitted to the grouping in 2017.

• Other observer states interested in acceding to full membership are Afghanistan and Mongolia. 

• There are 14 dialogue partners — Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Egypt, Cambodia, Qatar, Kuwait, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Sri Lanka.

• India, Iran and Pakistan were admitted as observers at the 2005 summit. On June 9, 2017, at the historic summit in Astana, India and Pakistan officially joined the SCO as full-fledged members.

• The SCO has two permanent bodies — the SCO Secretariat in Beijing and Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent. 

• The chairmanship of the SCO is by rotation for a year by the Member States.

The SCO’s main goals are:

i) Strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the Member States.

ii) Promoting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, economy, research, technology, culture, education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection and other areas.

iii) Making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region.

iv) Moving towards the establishment of a democratic, fair and rational new international political and economic order.

India and the SCO

• India was made an observer at the July 2005 Astana Summit and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping, which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region.

• India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.

• India has shown keen interest in deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.

• India's chairmanship of SCO has been a period of intense activity and mutually beneficial cooperation between member states.

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