The Chinese newspaper “People’s Daily” and the Uzbek news agency “Dong” published an article by the Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Vladimir Norov, dedicated to the International Day of Morality celebrated on April 5.

In the publication, the Secretary General shared his vision on ensuring moral principles in the modern world and within the framework of the SCO.

Establishing the International Day of Morality, the UN stressed that the basic moral principles are the basis of all International documents, including such a basic document as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Norov recalled.

Following these principles contributes to the implementation of many UN programs and the concept of creating a culture of peace, because only economic and political agreements are not enough to achieve peace and harmony on the planet.

“The culture of peace is a capacious and multifaceted concept that expresses the desire and determination of the world community to end the cult of force and war, to introduce into the minds of people the need to replace them with tolerance and goodwill,” the Secretary General said, adding that the modern world is undergoing a stage of deep transformation, the defining trend of which is uncertainty and unpredictability, the mutual intertwining of security threats, the aggravation of the struggle in the information space, and environmental degradation.

In such conditions, the ground for radical sentiments remains, including on the basis of inter-confessional and intra-religious contradictions, which is fraught with internal political excesses and increasing tension in international relations.

In this context, the role of regional associations, one of which is the SCO, is growing. Cooperation within the Organization is characterized by a spirit of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, mutual consultation, respect for the diversity of cultures and the desire for joint development. These principles, called the “Shanghai spirit”, are at the heart of relations between the SCO member States.

The SCO member States support the development of inter-civilizational dialogue, the strengthening of ties in the educational, scientific, technical, cultural and humanitarian fields, contributing to the further strengthening of good-neighborly relations, friendship and cooperation, as well as the strengthening of intercultural dialogue in the interests of the peoples in the SCO space.

The equality of the member states remains unchanged in the activities of the SCO. Its concrete embodiment is the provision on decision-making by consensus, which is applied in accordance with the SCO Charter.

The SCO Secretary General emphasizes that the member States respect the right to choose the path of political, economic, social and cultural development, taking into account the historical experience and national characteristics of each state, promote inter-civilizational dialogue, common peace, progress and harmony, are guided by the principles of non-interference in internal affairs, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the SCO member States, and do not support the use of unilateral pressure measures without the approval of the UN Security Council.

In conclusion, Norov stated that over the past almost 20 years, the SCO has formed a significant potential for cooperation in the fields of culture, education, science, youth policy and strengthening inter-civilizational dialogue, which are a solid foundation for the development of moral principles in society.

In the future, the SCO member States will continue to strengthen these principles through the promotion of intercultural and humanitarian cooperation, the disclosure of the huge potential of friendship, good-neighborliness, mutual respect and mutual understanding betwe