Russia's request for membership in the light of the situation in Chechnya
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 2 February 1995 (7th Sitting) (see Doc. 7230, report of the political Affairs Committee, rapporteur: Mr Muehlemann; and Doc. 7231, opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, rapporteur: Mr Bindig). Text adopted by the Assembly on 2 February 1995 (7th Sitting).
- Thesaurus
1. The Assembly considers that although the political conflict between Chechnya and the central authorities of the Russian Federation is an internal matter, the means employed by these authorities violate Russia's international obligations.
2. The Assembly thus unreservedly condemns the indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force by the Russian military, in particular against the civilian population, which is in violation of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their 1977 Second Protocol as well as of the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security, accepted by Russia as recently as December 1994.
3. These actions also constitute a grave violation of the Council of Europe's most elementary human rights principles, which Russia, by requesting membership of the Organisation, pledged to uphold.
4. The absence of parliamentary control over the decisions of the Russian Security Council and the apparent non-implementation by the military of Presidential orders is contrary to our Organisation's standards on democracy and the rule of law. Current legal uncertainties, especially in the Constitution, should be clarified. For this reason, the Assembly supports the efforts of the State Duma to modify the relevant legal provisions.
5. The Assembly calls upon the Federation Council and the State Duma of the Russian Federation to use all legal means to exert their combined pressure on the executive authorities of the Federation to stop without delay military action in Chechnya and to resolve the conflict peacefully through negotiations.
6. The Assembly lends its full support to those in Russia who, together with the international community, call for an immediate end to military operations and the opening of a political dialogue to solve the conflict peacefully.
7. It favours continued dialogue with Russia, through its special guest delegation, through contacts and visits by rapporteurs, and would equally welcome the continuation of the Council of Europe's intergovernmental assistance programme aimed at strengthening democracy and human rights.
8. It also encourages the efforts of the OSCE to find a peaceful solution and of UNHCR, the ICRC and the other organisations present on the spot to bring humanitarian assistance to the region.
9. The Assembly calls on member states to give a favourable response to the appeals for funds issued by the humanitarian organisations in order to finance their action to help persons displaced or affected by the fighting in Chechnya. It also appeals to the Russian Government to give its assistance to enable these organisations to carry their activities through to a successful conclusion.
10. The Assembly takes note of the resolution of 19 January 1995 of the European Parliament and supports the Parliament's position that the European Union should, under the present circumstances, not ratify a "partnership agreement" with Russia.
11. The Assembly decides to suspend the procedure concerning its statutory opinion on Russia's request for membership. The Assembly, in plenary session, will decide at a later date when to resume its examination of this request for membership.
