WRITTEN QUESTION E-0463/02

Submission: Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Commission

(11 – February 2002)

E-0463/02EL

Response [1] from Mr. Patten on behalf of the Commission (April 12, 2002).

The Commission is aware of the Amnesty International report regarding the violations of women’s human rights, particularly in Chechnya. The Commission has also taken note of other recent reports on human rights (for example, the report from Human Rights Watch dated February 28, 2002), which outline similar concerning findings regarding the treatment of the people of Chechnya as a whole, and specifically of women.

Despite various Russian initiatives to normalize the situation in Chechnya at the political, economic, and social levels, the situation on the ground is far from stable. All plans undertaken so far have failed to improve the extremely dangerous security conditions. In this regard, the Union continues to raise the issue of the conflict in Chechnya with the Russian authorities at every appropriate opportunity provided through intensive political dialogue between the Union and the Russian Federation. The Union maintains the position that, while respecting the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, only a political solution could ultimately ensure stability in Chechnya.

In the context of its contacts with the Russian authorities, the Union continues to make a clear distinction between the fight against terrorism and human rights violations. The fight against terrorism is entirely legitimate; however, under no circumstances can human rights violations be overlooked. In this regard, the Union welcomed a series of Russian actions aimed at addressing the ongoing human rights violations committed by the Russian armed forces, particularly the establishment of the Presidential Representative’s office for human rights in Chechnya, headed by Mr. Kalamanov, with the support of the Council of Europe. However, the Union also made it clear that the reported violations would result in more active prosecution by military and civil prosecutors so that there would be no question of impunity. We will continue to convey this message to the Russian authorities until the situation improves.

Finally, a consistent argument from the Commission has been for the Russian authorities to ensure better cooperation regarding the effective delivery of humanitarian aid to individuals affected by the conflict in Chechnya. The Community, despite some significant improvements observed recently, as the largest donor, has insisted that Russia provide guarantees for safer communications and access for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to the population, which carry out the community’s humanitarian assistance plans.

The Commission continues to raise these issues within the framework of the bilateral political dialogue with Russia and further supports that all the aforementioned issues should be addressed at the next United Nations Human Rights Committee meeting to be held in Geneva.

[1] Provisional response. Not yet published in the EU.