Joint Control Commission
Encyclopedia
The Joint Control Commission (JCC), (Russian initials: СKK) is a tri-lateral peacekeeping
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....

 force and joint military command structure which operates in a buffer zone
Buffer zone
A buffer zone is generally a zonal area that lies between two or more other areas , but depending on the type of buffer zone, the reason for it may be to segregate regions or to conjoin them....

 on the border between the Republic of Moldova and the disputed territory controlled by the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR)
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...

.

History

Following the War of Transnistria
War of Transnistria
The War of Transnistria was a limited conflict that broke out in November 1990 at Dubăsari between pro-Transnistria forces, including the Transnistrian Republican Guard, militia and Cossack units, and supported by elements of the Russian 14th army, and pro-Moldovan forces, including Moldovan...

, the Joint Control Commission was established on the initiative of Russian president Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...

 by the signing of a cease-fire agreement on July 21, 1992. It consists of soldiers from the armed forces of Moldova
Military of Moldova
The Moldovan Armed Forces consist of the Ground Forces and Air and Air Defense Forces.- History :Moldova has accepted all relevant arms control obligations of the former Soviet Union...

, the PMR and Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are the military services of Russia, established after the break-up of the Soviet Union. On 7 May 1992 Boris Yeltsin signed a decree establishing the Russian Ministry of Defence and placing all Soviet Armed Forces troops on the territory of the RSFSR...

, originally with a numerical underrepresentation of the PMR. In 1998, the commission 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.http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/13611.pdf

Of the three (3) original sides supplying troops, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 has traditionally provided the most with Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...

 second and the smallest contingent provided by Transnistria
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...

. As of 2006, however, each of Moldova and the PMR participate with slightly more soldiers than Russia: Moldova currently supplies 403 men to the force, the PMR 411 men and Russia up to 385 men.http://www.olvia.idknet.com/ol143-07-06.htm

Mission

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
Dniester
The Dniester is a river in Eastern Europe. It runs through Ukraine and Moldova and separates most of Moldova's territory from the breakaway de facto state of Transnistria.-Names:...

 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.http://www.olvia.idknet.com/ol49-05-06.htm

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