Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure

Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure
Региональная Антитеррористическая Структура
地区反恐机构
The SCO RATS shield
Organ overview
Formed2004 (2004)
JurisdictionMember states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
HeadquartersTashkent, Uzbekistan[1]
Organ executive
  • Ruslan Erkinovich Mirzaev, Executive Committee Director
Parent organisationShanghai Cooperation Organisation
Websitehttps://ecrats.org/

The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (Russian: Региональная Антитеррористическая Структура; Chinese: 地区反恐机构; pinyin: Dìqū Fǎnkǒng Jīgòu; RATS) is a permanent organ of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) tasked with coordinating counterterrorism efforts across member countries and advancing cooperation on SCO initiatives to mitigate the "Three Evils" – terrorism, separatism and religious extremism.[2][3] The organization is meant to lay the groundwork for a future enforcement capability within the SCO, which aspires to develop its own transnational police and military forces.[2][4]

Member countries have more recently incorporated narcoterrorism and drug smuggling as focus areas for RATS, as narcotics have become a major source of funding for anti-government activities within member states. The organization also maintains a database of individuals and organizations aiding organizations designated as terrorists, separatists or extremists by member states.[5][6]

RATS has been described by researchers at the United States Army War College as "SCO’s most important and best-functioning component structure to date."[7]

The director of the RATS Executive Committee is appointed by the SCO Council of Heads of State to a three-year term after which the role is traditionally transferred to the representative of another member state, rotating by order of accession. The current director is Ruslan Mirzaev of Uzbekistan, who assumed office on 1 January 2022.

RATS was headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, until 2022, when the organisation voted to move its headquarters to Moscow, Russia.[citation needed] RATS' official languages are Chinese, Russian and English.[5][2]

  1. ^ "The Shanghai cooperation organisation | SCO". chn.sectsco.org. Archived from the original on 2021-06-13. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  2. ^ a b c Xiaodong, Zhao (2012). Edström, Bert; Brennan, Elliot (eds.). The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and Counter-Terrorism Cooperation (PDF). Stockholm: Institute for Security and Development Policy. ISBN 978-91-86635-42-8.
  3. ^ Aris, Stephen (2009). "The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation: 'Tackling the Three Evils'. A Regional Response to Non-Traditional Security Challenges or an Anti-Western Bloc?". Europe-Asia Studies. 61 (3): 457–482. doi:10.1080/09668130902753309. ISSN 0966-8136. JSTOR 27752254. S2CID 153802882.
  4. ^ Wang, Jin; Kong, Dehang (2019). "Counter-Terrorism Cooperation Between China and Central Asian States in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization". China Quarterly of International Strategic Studies. 05 (1): 65–79. doi:10.1142/S2377740019500027. ISSN 2377-7400.
  5. ^ a b "Sergei Korolev to carry Shanghai Pact's anti-terrorism flag". Intelligence Online. 2021-06-01. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  6. ^ "History of SCO RATS". Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. January 1, 2022.
  7. ^ Plater-Zyberk, Henry; Monaghan, Andrew (August 1, 2014). "Strategic Implications of the Evolving Shanghai Cooperation Organization". U.S. Army War College. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Strategic Studies Institute. ISBN 978-1-58487-633-5 – via JSTOR.