Rereading Charters: Security Organizations’ Responses to the June 2010 Conflict in Kyrgyzstan
The June 2010 conflict in southern Kyrgyzstan was a significant event for regional and international security organizations. Kyrgyzstan belongs to several of these organizations: the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the United Nations (UN). Kyrgyzstan’s government and security services struggled to stop the conflict and requested outside intervention, particularly from the CSTO. However, no forces from any organization deployed to Kyrgyzstan to enforce or keep peace. Instead, these organizations provided humanitarian assistance but did not intervene in a member’s domestic problem, per their charters. Some members of Kyrgyzstan’s government and the international community criticized these responses; from their viewpoint these organizations did not provide an adequate response. An examination of these organizations’ responses to the June conflict alongside their charters can demonstrate their capabilities and constraints.