Violation of human rights in Chechnya, response of the Council

Parliamentary Questions

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0425/03

Submission: Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Commission

(7 February 2003)

Ε-0425/03

Answer

(29 September 2003)

The Council shares the concern expressed in the above question.

The Council has repeatedly expressed to the Russian authorities its concerns about the human rights situation – including the lack of transparency regarding their violation – humanitarian aid, and the cessation of the OSCE Assistance Group in Chechnya.

More recently, these concerns were expressed in the Troika of Political Directors with Russia on January 16 and in the Ministerial Troika with Russia on January 24 in Athens. The Council also raised the issue of Chechnya in the EU-Russia Cooperation Council on April 14/15, 2003.

The Council sincerely regrets the cessation of the OSCE Assistance Group on December 31 and fully supports all efforts by the OSCE Chairman to ensure a more long-term and constructive OSCE presence in the region. To this end, the Council expresses its satisfaction with the proposal of the OSCE Chairman to implement a technical cooperation program between the OSCE Chairman and the Russian authorities for the rapid development of a coherent and specific program of activities, based on the actual needs of the Chechen Republic, on the one hand, and on the expertise and experience of the OSCE in all three of its dimensions, on the other.

Additionally, within the framework of the UN Human Rights Committee, the EU submitted a draft resolution on the situation in the Chechen Republic in which it expressed serious concerns regarding human rights, security, and the humanitarian situation in Chechnya. Unfortunately, the support received by this resolution was not sufficient for its approval.