Article 3 Mandate

promote overall Union political coordination in Central Asia and help to ensure consistency of the external actions of the Union in the region;

monitor, on behalf of the HR and in accordance with the EUSR’s mandate, together with the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the Commission the implementation process of the EU Strategy for a New Partnership with Central Asia, make recommendations and report to relevant Council bodies on a regular basis;

assist the Council in further developing a comprehensive policy towards Central Asia;

follow closely political developments in Central Asia by developing and maintaining close contacts with governments, parliaments, the judiciary, civil society and mass media;

encourage Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to cooperate on regional issues of common interest;

develop appropriate contacts and cooperation with the main interested actors in the region, and all relevant regional and international organisations, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC), the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program (CAREC) and the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre (CARICC);

contribute to the implementation of the EU human rights policy and EU Guidelines on Human Rights, in particular with regard to children and women in areas affected by conflict, especially by monitoring and addressing developments in this regard;

contribute, in close cooperation with the OSCE, to conflict prevention and resolution by developing contacts with the authorities and other local actors such as non-governmental organisations, political parties, minorities, religious groups and their leaders;

provide input to the formulation of energy security, anti-narcotics and water resource management aspects of the common foreign and security policy with respect to Central Asia.