Agreement between the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan on establishment of the Central Asian Regional Information Coordination Centre for Combating Illicit Trafficking of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and their Precursors

The Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan, hereinafter referred to as the Parties,
Being the Member-Parties of the Memorandum of Understanding on sub-regional drug control cooperation dated May 4 1996, 
Acknowledging the need for protecting the life and health of nations, as well as securing other vital interests of their states from the severe consequences of illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors (hereinafter referred to as illicit drug trafficking), Being deeply concerned about increased illicit drug trafficking and the aggravation of drug abuse problems,Being guided by the generally accepted principles and norms of international law and the legislation of the Parties,Proceeding from mutual respect of sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity of the states and non-interference in the internal affairs of one another,Recognising the importance of strengthening international cooperation in combating illicit drug trafficking, and executing control over their precursors,pursuing the goals of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, as amended by the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971, and UN Drug Control Convention against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988, other respective resolutions and documents of United Nations Organisation, HAVE AGREED as follows:

I. General matters

Article 1
For the purposes of the present Agreement, the terms listed below have the following
meanings:
1.1. CARICC – Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre for combating the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors (hereinafter referred to as Centre);
1.2. Seconding state – the Party that seconds its representative to the Centre;
1.3. Host state – the Party on the territory of which the Centre is located;
1.4. Competent authorities - competent authorities responsible for combating illicit drug trafficking;
1.5. Competent international organisation - international organisation dealing with issues related to combating illicit drug trafficking;
1.6. Council - Council of National Coordinators of the Parties; 
1.7. Management of the Centre – Director, Director deputy/deputies;
1.8. Official – representative of a competent authority, seconded by the Party to the Centre and appointed to a respective staff position;
1.9. Financial controller – official of the Centre that ensures control of all financial operations of the Centre;
1.10. Employee – a staff member of the Centre who provides administrative and technical support to the Centre’s operations;
1.11. Personnel of the Centre – officials and employees of the Centre;
1.12. Liaison officer - representative of the competent authority of the Party who is a staff member of this competent authority and is seconded to the Centre for liaising between competent authorities of the state that seconded him and the Centre;
1.13. Members of the family - spouse, underage children and the dependents of officials and liaison officers who permanently live in the same household;
1.14. Representatives of the Parties – the heads of delegations, their deputies, delegates, advisors, technical experts, secretaries of delegations sent by the Parties for participating in the meetings and activities of the Centre;
1.15. National Coordinating Body - a body appointed by the Party for coordination of cooperation and exchange of information between the Centre and the national competent authorities and other Government bodies of the Parties;
1.16. Information with restricted access – secret and confidential information;
1.17. Secret information – any form of information protected in compliance with the laws of the states of each Party, received in the course of implementation of the present Agreement, as well as information generated as a result of cooperation of the Parties, unauthorised dissemination of which may cause damage to the security or interests of the Parties;
1.18. Confidential information – information the access to which is restricted in compliance with the laws of the Parties;
1.19. Intelligence - information obtained in the course of execution of operations and investigation of illicit drug trafficking cases;
1.20. Other information – reference, analytical, statistical and other data that relates to combating illicit drug trafficking;
1.21. Exchange of information – receiving and sharing the information by the Parties, Centre and the third parties;
1.22. CARICC CDB – CARICC Centralised Database;
1.23. Observer – a state, competent international organisation which is not a Party to the present Agreement, and which is given the status of the observer at the Centre;
1.24. Third party - a state, competent international organisation which is not a Party to the present Agreement, and which does not have the status of the observer at the Centre;
1.25. Premises of the Centre – buildings or parts of the buildings used for the purposes of the Centre regardless of the property rights over them, including the land around the buildings or their parts.
 
Article 2
2.1. Hereby the Parties establish the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre for combating illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors. The Centre is located in the city of Almaty, the Republic of Kazakhstan;
2.2. The terms based on which the Centre shall be hosted by the city of Almaty, the Republic of Kazakhstan shall be specified in the separate Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Centre.
Article 3
3.1. The Centre shall be a permanently operating regional information and coordination interstate agency that shall assist in organizing, undertaking and coordinating agreed joint international operations to combat illicit drug trafficking. The Centre shall also ensure the collection, storage, protection, analysis, and exchange of information on trans-border crime associated with illicit drug trafficking; 
3.2. In its activities the Centre shall be guided by the provisions of the present Agreement, documents, and decisions of the Parties;
3.3 The Objectives and functions of the Centre are defined by the Regulations on the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre for Combating Illicit Trafficking of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and their Precursors, which is an integral part of the present Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations on CARICC).

Article 4
4.1. The Centre shall have the status of a legal entity and as such shall enjoy all rights and bear all obligations in compliance with the present Agreement, and the legislation of the host state without prejudice to the privileges and immunities of the Centre.
Article 5
5.1. The Centre shall be financed by the funds provided by donor-countries, the support of international organisations and the contributions of the Parties;
5.2. The implementation of the budget of the Centre, budget reporting and financial audit shall be defined by Regulation on CARICC.

II. Organisation of information exchange and agreed joint international operations

Article 6
6.1. Exchange of information shall be carried out observing the requirements on information protection specified in the national legislation of the Parties. Information shall be exchanged between:

 - the Parties via liaison officers;
 - the Parties and the Centre;
 - the Centre and observers;
 - the Centre and the third Parties;
6.2. Each Member State shall decide internally on the access level to the information provided to the Centre as well as the procedure of providing this information to other Parties, observers, and the third parties;
6.3. The Party that provides information shall be responsible for its accuracy, classification in terms of reliability of the source and validity of the information;
6.4. The level of access to information shall be defined by the Party that provides this information. Analytical, reference and statistical information obtained due to processing of available intelligence and other information shall be transmitted upon approval of the Party that provided the source information;
6.5. In the course of exchange of information the Centre shall:
 - collect, process, collate, store, and protect provided information;
 - develop reference, analytical, and statistical information;
 - provide information on inquiry;
6.6. Requests for information and the information itself shall be communicated through secured communication channels;
6.7. The users of information obtained in the course of exchange of information or from CARICC CDB shall be liable for the violation of procedures on protection, processing and use of this information in compliance with their national legislation;
6.8. The procedure of the establishment and operation of CARICC Centralised Database shall be regulated by the Regulations on CARICC; 
6.9. The procedure for the exchange of secret information as well as its further protection and access shall be specified in a separate agreement. 
Article 7
7.1. Cooperation between the competent authorities of the Parties and the Centre in providing assistance in organizing, executing and coordinating of agreed joint international operations and investigations, including controlled deliveries, shall be based on the requests of the Parties interested in (such) assistance;
7.2. A request for assistance may be submitted in hard copy or electronic format;
7.3. In case of emergency, a request may be submitted verbally, and confirmation by a hard copy or in electronic format should be provided within three days;
7.4. When technical means of transmission of information are used, and in case there is doubt as to the authenticity or the content of the authentic request, the requested Party may ask for confirmation from the requesting Party in hard copy or electronic format;

7.5. Request for assistance shall contain the following information:
 - name of the requesting Party;
 - name of the requested Party;
 - summary of the request and reasoning;
 - other information needed for providing assistance;
7.6. The requested Party shall take appropriate measures for the timely and thorough fulfilment of requests. Requested information is to be provided within 30 days starting from the date of receiving the request. In case of urgency, requested information is to be provided within 10 days, and immediately in emergency situations;
7.7. The requested Party may allow the representatives of the requesting Party to be present on its territory while the request is fulfilled if this does not contradict its legislation;
7.8. If a request can not be fulfilled, or in case of rejection of the request, the requested Party shall promptly notify the requesting Party with explanations of the reasons for the non-fulfilment of the request;
7.9. Request may be completely or partially rejected if the requested Party believes that execution of the request may harm the sovereignty, security and other interests of the state or if it contradicts its legislation;
7.10. In cases where the requested Party believes that the immediate execution of the request may impede criminal prosecution, or other executions being carried out on its territory it may postpone the fulfilment of the request and bind its execution with fulfilment of prerequisites that would be identified after consultations with the requesting Party. If the requesting Party agrees to receive assistance on such terms then it should meet these prerequisites;
7.11. The Parties shall ensure the protection and confidentiality of information as well as the content of documents and materials on issues related to combating illicit drug trafficking that are exchanged between the Parties;
7.12. The requesting Party shall use the received information only for the purposes that were stated in the request;
7.13. Information, including documents and materials shall not be divulged to third parties without the expressed written approval of the Party which provided this information;
7.14. In case a request cannot be satisfied confidentially, the requested Party shall notify the requesting Party, and the requesting Party decides whether this request shall be satisfied on these terms;
7.15. The Parties shall themselves shall assume financial responsibility for the expenses of execution of the request on their territory;
7.16. The Parties shall themselves bear all the expenses associated with the travel and accommodation of their representatives on the territory of the host Party, unless otherwise agreed to in writing.

III. Organisational matters of the Centre

Article 8
8.1. Each Party shall assign a National Coordination Body and shall prepare a list of the competent authorities, which shall communicate with the Centre. The Depositary should be notified of this 30 days after all internal procedures required for this Agreement to enter into force are completed;
8.2. In case of changes made to the list of competent authorities by one of the Parties, the Party shall inform the Depositary on the changes;
8.3. The Parties shall take all necessary measures to provide the conditions that would allow the national coordination bodies to fulfil their objectives, especially regarding access to the required information.
Article 9
9.1. The Parties shall execute control over the activities of the Centre via the Council;
9.2. The Council shall be composed of the heads of the competent coordination body of each state and the Director of the Centre;
9.3. The Council shall define the strategic guidelines for the Centre;
9.4. The functions of the Council shall be as follows:
- to define the major activities of the Centre and provide assistance in resolving issues in relation to the execution of multilateral drug control operations;
- to consider the candidates for management positions and submit designation proposals to the heads of the Member States for approval;
- to approve the organisational structure and the staffing of the Centre;
- to execute control over the activities of the Centre;
- to determine the resources required for fulfilling the goals and objectives of the Centre; 
- to estimate, approve the budget, and control the use of budget funds;
- to consider the financial and audit statements of the Centre; 
- to regularly consider the degree of protection of information and databases;
- to consider disputes between the Centre and the competent authorities of the Parties;
- to perform any other function as specified in the legal documents, which regulate the activities of the Centre;
9.5. The Council shall convene periodically but no less than twice a year on the territory of one of the Parties as shall be agreed upon;
9.6. The meetings of the Council shall be as a rule chaired by the representative of the country hosting the meeting;
9.7. The Council shall make decisions based on consensus. A decision shall be considered adopted if no less than 3/4th of the Council's members are present.
Article 10
10.1. The procedure of seconding officials to work at the Centre shall be regulated by the legislation of the country that seconds an official;
10.2. The duration, conditions, and terms of work for the Centre's personnel, as well as the qualification requirements for the positions and duties are specified in the Regulations on CARICC;
10.3. The personnel of the Centre shall be remunerated from the budget of the Centre.
Article 11
11.1. Liaison Officers are seconded to the Centre by the competent authorities. They are and shall remain the staff members of these competent authorities throughout the period of secondment;
11.2. The period for which liaison officers shall be seconded to the Centre is determined in compliance with the legislation of the seconding country;
11.3. Liaison officers shall not be members of the Centre’s staff;
11.4. The objectives and duties of liaison officers are stated in the Regulations on CARICC. 
Article 12
12.1. A state that is not a Party to the present Agreement and a competent international organisation may be given the status of observer according to the set procedure;
12.2. The conditions under which the status of the observer is given, as well as the objectives and functions of their representatives are specified in the Regulations on CARICC.

IV. Privileges and Immunities

Article 13
13.1. The personnel of the Centre shall have the status of international employees;
13.2. In the course of execution of their duties, the personnel of the Centre may not inquire or receive directions from the governments or officials of any Party, and/or from any government, organisation or a private person;
13.3. Each Party shall commit itself to fully respect the international nature of duties of the personnel of the Centre and to abstain from influencing them in the performance of their duties.
Article 14
14.1. The officials of the Centre being on the territory of the Parties:
1) Are not subject to criminal, civil, or administrative liability in respect of words spoken or written and all acts performed by them in their official capacity except for the following:
? the facts of disclosure of the information or restricted access if such became available to other people; 
? a civil action by a third party for damage arising from an accident caused by a motor vehicle belonging to the Centre or its staff member, or driven by him/her;
? a civil action brought against them for compensation of damages in connection with the death or physical injuries caused by the actions of the official;
2) Shall be exempted from taxation on salaries, allowances and emoluments paid to them by the Centre;
3) Shall be immune from national service obligations;
4) Shall be free, together with the members of their families, from migration and registration restrictions applied to foreigners;
5) Shall enjoy the same privileges in currency operations that are enjoyed by diplomatic agents on the territories of the Member States;
6) Shall enjoy, together with the members of their families, the same privileges in repatriation that are enjoyed by the diplomatic agents in time of international crisis;
7) At the time of first taking up their post or leaving the country due to the termination of the contract, shall have the right to import and repatriate including private cars free of any tariffs, dues, customs duties, taxes and levies in compliance with the legislation of the host state, except for payments for specific services rendered;
14.2. Provisions of subparagraph 2) of paragraph 14.1. of the current Agreement shall apply to employees of the Centre.
Article 15
15.1. Officials of the Centre, liaison officers, representatives of the observers, and the members of their families shall enjoy the privileges and immunities specified in the present Agreement from the moment of arrival to the host state, and from the moment they begin performing their duties if they are already on the territory of the host state;
15.2. In case of officials of the Centre, liaison officers, and representatives of the observers quitting the Centre, their privileges and immunities and the privileges and immunities of the members of their families end at the moment they leave the host state or their privileges and immunities continue to exist only within 30 days period after they quit the Centre. The privileges and immunities of the members of their families end as soon as they stop being as such, but with the reservation, that if they leave the host state within 30 days, then privileges and immunities shall be valid to the moment they leave the host state;
15.3. In the event of death of an official, liaison officer or a representative of the observer, the members of their families shall continue enjoying the privileges and immunities up to the moment they leave the host state or within 30 days period prior to their departure from the host state.
Article 16
16.1. Visas shall be granted via accelerated procedures and free of charge based on an invitation letter offering a position or a warrant.
 
Article 17
17.1. The representatives of the Parties, while executing their duties and while travelling to the place of activities being organised by the Centre in the Member States and back, shall be granted the following privileges and immunities:
1) Immunity from arrest or detention, seizure of personal property, as well as criminal, civil or administrative liability in respect of words spoken or written and acts performed in their capacity as representatives;
2) Inviolability of all documents;
3) The right to use ciphers, to receive or send papers and correspondence via couriers and valise;
4) Immigration restrictions, registration as foreigners or national service duties in the country of temporary stay or transit during the course of execution of duties shall not be applied to them and their spouses;
5) Privileges in currency operations that are enjoyed by the representatives of foreign governments while being on business trips;
6) Immunities and privileges in relation to their personal baggage similar to those granted to diplomatic representatives;
7) Other privileges and immunities that are enjoyed by diplomatic representatives except for the right to request exemption for customs duties on imported goods (that are not part of the personal luggage), or excise tax, or sales tax;
17.2. To ensure freedom of speech and the independent exercise of their functions the representatives of Parties shall not be subject of criminal, civil or administrative liability in respect of words spoken or written and acts performed with the exception of cases of disclosure of restricted access information. This provision shall remain valid after the respective persons are no longer the representatives of the Parties;
17.3. In cases where taxation depends on the duration of stay, the period during which the representatives of the Parties are stationed in any Member State to fulfil their responsibilities, shall not be included into the duration of stay;
17.4. Provisions of subparagraphs 1), 2) ? 3) of the paragraph 17.1. of the present Article shall not be applied to relations of the representative and of the Government which citizen he/she is or which the representative he/she is or was.
Article 18
18.1. Liaison officers and the members of their families shall enjoy the same privileges and immunities as provided for a diplomatic agent in the host state;
18.2 The privileges and immunities granted to the representatives of the observers shall be determined by the Agreement between the host state and the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre for combating illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors. 
Article 19
19.1. In addition to the privileges and immunities provided by the present Agreement, the officials of the Centre, liaison officers, representatives of the observers as well as the members of their families living with them shall enjoy other privileges and immunities of diplomatic agents and their families in compliance with international law as may be agreed between the Parties;
19.2. Privileges and immunities that shall be enjoyed by officials of the Centre, liaison officers, representatives of the Parties, representatives of the observers shall be granted not for the personal benefit of the individuals themselves but for the effective and independent execution of their official functions in the interests of the Centre;
19.3. The officials of the Centre and liaison officers shall not have the right to participate in entrepreneurial or other activity for their own benefit or the benefit of other people;
19.4. All persons that enjoy the privileges and immunities in compliance with the present agreement are bound, without prejudice to their privileges and immunities, to respect the legislation of the Parties and not to interfere into their internal affairs.
Article 20
20.1. Personnel of the Centre and the liaison officers shall enjoy free movement on the territory of the Parties to the extent, which is necessary for the exercise of their official duties if this does not contradict the laws of the Parties on restricted access to certain zones, or the access to those zones is regulated for reasons of state security;
20.2. The personnel of the Centre and liaison officers on the territories of the Parties shall use Identification Cards, which shall be recognised by the authorities of the Parties as the document identifying the status of these persons;
20.3. The personnel of the Centre and the liaison officers as well as the members of their families shall enjoy all privileges, guarantees and compensations provided by the laws and regulations of the seconding state, including terms of remuneration, reservation of residence medical service, rank, years of service, as well as a position that is not lower than before being seconded to the Centre, over entire period of their stay in the host state and upon return; 
20.4. Provision of pensions to the personnel of the Centre and liaison officers shall be done in compliance with the legislation of the Parties; 
20.5. The period of work at the Centre of the personnel and liaison officers as well as the period their spouses (who are not citizens of this state) stay in the host state shall be accounted for their seniority in compliance with the legislation of the Parties, whose citizens or residents they are. 
Article 21
21.1. The property and assets of the Centre shall be immune from any form of administrative or judicial interference of the Member States;
21.2. The premises and motor vehicles of the Centre, its archives and documents, including official correspondence, regardless of the place of location shall not be subject to search, seizure, confiscation, and any form of interference that may impede the operations of the Centre;
21.3. The premises and motor vehicles of the Centre may not be used as a refuge for legally persecuted persons, or for persons subject to extradition to any Party to the CARICC or the third state;
 
21.4. Immunity of the premises and motor vehicles of the Centre does not imply the right to use them for purposes incompatible with the objectives and functions of the Centre, or impairing the security, interests of natural and legal persons of the Parties;
21.5. The Centre shall have the right to use ciphers, courier and other means of communication that would ensure security of information. The Centre shall have the right to receive and dispatch correspondence either by courier or in valises that shall have the same immunity and privileges as diplomatic couriers and valises;
21.6. The courier shall be provided with official documents identifying his/her status and the number of valises that contain official correspondence;
21.7. All pieces of official correspondence should bear visible outside signs indicating their character, and may contain official documents and items intended for official use.
Article 22
22.1. The Centre, its assets and other property shall be exempt from all direct taxes, levies, charges, and value-added tax (including in the form of refunding in compliance with the laws and regulations of the host state) collected in the host state, including the rent for premises occupied by the Centre with the exception of payments for specific services rendered;
22.2. The property and premises of the Centre shall be exempt from all direct taxes, charges, levies and other payments imposed on the territory of the host state, including rent payment;
22.3. Property and items intended for the official use by the Centre shall be exempt from customs duties, taxes and associated levies, and payments with the exception of payment for transportation, storing, customs services provided outside customs facilities or off time, and similar services according to the procedure provided for international organisations.

V. Final Provisions

Article 23
23.1. The Centre shall have a distinguishing flag, emblem and other distinctive symbols that can be displayed in/on the office premises occupied by the Centre and its motor vehicles;
23.2. The Parties shall recognise the official documents, seals, stamps, and symbols of the Centre.
Article 24
24.1. The official and working language of the Centre shall be Russian. 
Article 25
25.1. The present Agreement does not restrict the rights of the Parties to conclude other international agreements on the issues that are the subject of the present Agreement if they do not contradict the goals and objective of this Agreement. The present Agreement does not affect the rights and liabilities of the Parties under other international agreements signed by them.
Article 26
26.1. The issues arising from interpretation or application of the present Agreement shall be resolved via consultations and discussions between the concerned Parties.
Article 27
27.1. The Depositary of the present Agreement is the state hosting the Centre. Official certified copies of the present Agreement shall be sent by the Depositary to the Parties within 15 days starting from the date of signature.
Article 28
28.1. The present Agreement is subject to ratification and shall come into force on the 30th day starting from the day of depositing the fourth Ratification Instrument with the Depositary;
28.2. The text of the present Agreement may be modified or amended as shall be agreed between all Parties. Modifications and amendments shall be reflected by protocols and shall come into force from the moment of receiving the fourth written notification on the execution of internal procedures of the Parties;
28.3. The present Agreement is open for other states to join. Decision on joining shall be taken by the Parties based on consensus;
28.4. For a state that joins the present Agreement, the Agreement shall come into force on the 30th day starting from the day when the Depositary receives the document on joining;
28.5. Any Party may secede from the Agreement, having provided written notification of withdrawal to the Depositary no later than three months prior to the withdrawal. The Depositary shall inform the other Parties on such an intent within 15 days from the day when the notification is received;

28.6. Done in the city of Astana on "26" july 2006 in one authentic copy in Russian.