Developments in the Russian Federation in relation to the situation in Chechnya
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 24 April 1996 (13th Sitting) (see Doc. 7531, report of the Political Affairs Committee, rapporteur: Mr Muehlemann; and Doc. 7532, opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, rapporteur: Mr Bindig). Text adopted by the Assembly on 24 April 1996 (13th Sitting).
- Thesaurus
1. The Assembly deplores that the armed conflict in Chechnya, which began in December 1994, continues despite the conclusion of a cease-fire agreement on 30 July 1995.
2. It unreservedly condemns the current violations of human rights and international humanitarian law being committed both by the Federal Russian troops and the Chechen combatants, in particular:
2.1 the indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force by the Russian military, especially against the civilian population, which is in violation of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Protocol II (1977);
2.2 the taking of hostages and the brutal terrorist attacks perpetrated by Chechen fighters, which cannot be justified by any cause, as well as their taking up of positions near civilian dwellings without giving civilians clear warnings to evacuate before taking up such positions, which is also in violation of the same conventions
3. All these actions constitute a grave violation of the Council of Europe's most elementary human rights principles.
4. The Assembly recalls that in its
Opinion No. 193 on Russia's request for membership of the Council of Europe, adopted on 25 January 1996, note was taken of the Russian Federation's intention "to settle international as well as internal disputes by peaceful means", a commitment of particular importance in the Caucasus, traditionally a zone of tension; as well as of the commitments "to respect strictly the provisions of international humanitarian law, including in cases of armed conflict on its territory", and "to co-operate in good faith with international humanitarian organisations and to enable them to carry on their activities on its territory in conformity with their mandates", commitments which are currently not all being honoured by the Russian Federation.
5. The Assembly notes that the President of the Russian Federation presented a "plan to solve the crisis in the Chechen Republic" on 31 March 1996, proposing, inter alia:
5.1 a cease-fire;
5.2 the phased withdrawal of federal troops;
5.3 the extension of the "islands of peace" negotiated in the field with the local authorities;
5.4 the convening of a "political forum for peace", bringing together representatives of the Chechen people and of federal institutions;
5.5 talks on the future status of Chechnya;
5.6 the conclusion of agreements on the demarcation of authority between federal and local institutions;
5.7 a resolution by the State Duma on an amnesty for separatist fighters who have not committed the most serious crimes.
6. The Assembly urges that concrete measures, beginning with a cease-fire, be taken without further delay to implement elements of this or other peace plans, and considers that these efforts will be successful only if they involve all the parties to the conflict acting in good faith, and if the Russian authorities will stop describing as bandits the Chechen combatants acting on the territory of Chechnya, who do not make use of terrorist means.
7. It calls on the parties to the conflict to open, without delay and without preconditions, negotiations on the status and reconstruction of Chechnya, with the assistance of the OSCE and the Council of Europe.
8. It also insists that representatives of humanitarian organisations be guaranteed access to the war zones, especially that representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross be allowed to visit prison camps, and that such access also be allowed to journalists from all the media.
9. The Assembly deplores the fact that President Yeltsin's orders for a cease-fire in Chechnya are being disobeyed by military commanders, and therefore calls on the President of the Russian Federation to take the necessary measures, according to his constitutional powers, in order to ensure the implementation of his orders and thus the credibility of his peace plans.
10. The Assembly reminds the Russian authorities of their commitment, included in
Opinion No. 193 (1996), to ensure that "those found responsible for human rights violations will be brought to justice - notably in relation to events in Chechnya", and demands that documented human rights abuses, for example in the filtration camps, be investigated, and the guilty punished.
