Joint Control Commission

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The Joint Control Commission (JCC), (Russian initials: OKK) is a tri-lateral peacekeeping force and joint military command structure which operates in a buffer zone on the border between the Republic of Moldova and the disputed territory of Transnistria.

Following the War of Transnistria, the Joint Control Commission was established on the initiative of Russin president Boris Yeltsin by the signing of a cease-fire agreement on July 21, 1992. It consists of soldiers from the armed forces of Moldova, Transnistria and Russia, originally with a numerical underrepresentation of Transnistrians. In 1998, it was enlarged by the addition of 10 Ukrainian military observers. Moreover, OSCE also has a Transnistria-based observation mission and participates in all JCC meetings. The current peacekeeping mechanism is a multi-state mission equipped with an international mandate, which began deployment on 29 July 1992.[1]

Of the three original sides supplying troops, Russia has traditionally provided the most with Moldova second and the smallest contingent provided by Transnistria. As of 2006, however, both Moldova and Transnistria participate with more soldiers than Russia: Moldova currently supplies 403 men to the force, Transnistria 411 men and Russia up to 385 men.[2]

The Joint Control Commission is charged with ensuring observance of the ceasefire and security arrangements and has generally been successful, as the armed conflict has not at any time re-erupted since 1992. The demilitarized buffer zone, known locally as the Dniester Valley "security zone", roughly follows the outline of the Dniester river. It is 225 kilometres long and from 1 to 15 kilometres wide.

As per the 1992 agreement with Moldova, Russia has a right to keep 2,400 troops in Transnistria. However, as of 2006 the number of Russian troops was just 1,500, with between 349 to 385 of those assigned to JCC at any given time.[3]

[edit] External links

• "Change in the peacekeeping format can bring new war"

[edit] References

1. John Mackinlay, Peter Cross (editors): Regional Peacekeepers. United Nations University Press. ISBN 92-808-1079-0.
2. Ion Mardarovici. "NATO and the security in the Eastern countries during transition times", NATO Fellowship Program, 2002.