About SCO
● Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental
international organisation established in 2001.
● It’s a Eurasian political, economic and military organisation aiming to maintain peace,
security and stability in the region.
● Prior to the creation of SCO in 2001, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and
Tajikistan were members of the Shanghai Five.
● Following the accession of Uzbekistan to the organisation in 2001, the Shanghai Five
was renamed the SCO.
● There are eight member states in the SCO at present. India and Pakistan became
members in 2017.
● The SCO Secretariat, based in Beijing, is the main permanent executive body of the SCO.
● The organisation has two permanent bodies —
○ the SCO Secretariat based in Beijing and
○ the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS)
based in Tashkent. RATS serves to promote cooperation of member states
against the three evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism.
Objectives of the SCO
● To strengthen mutual trust among the neighbouring member states.
● To promote effective cooperation in various fields like economy, trade, politics, culture
and research and technology.
● To ensure peace, prosperity, security and stability in the region, and
● To establish a democratic, fair and rational international eco-political order.
Why in News?
● SCO member states adopt a protocol to strengthen cooperation in preventing and
combating growing menace of trafficking in persons especially, women and children.
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1767565