III

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. RES. 269

Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to United States relations

with the Russian Federation, given the Russian Federation’s conduct

in Chechnya, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 9, 2000

Mr. HELMS submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on Foreign Relations

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to United

States relations with the Russian Federation, given the

Russian Federation’s conduct in Chechnya, and for other

purposes.

Whereas the Senate of the United States unanimously passed

Senate Resolution 262 on February 24th, 2000, to condemn the indiscriminate use of force by the Government

of the Russian Federation against the people of

Chechnya, to prompt peace negotiations between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government

of Chechnya led by elected President Aslan Maskhadov,

and to prompt the Government of the Russian Federation to immediately grant international organizations full

and unimpeded access in Chechnya and the surrounding

regions so that they can provide much needed humani-
2

•SRES 269 IS

tarian assistance and investigate alleged atrocities and

war crimes;

Whereas the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate

received credible evidence and testimony reporting that

Russian forces in Chechnya caused the deaths of countless thousands of innocent civilians; caused the displacement of well over 250,000 innocents; forcibly relocated

refugee populations; and have committed widespread

atrocities, including summary executions, torture, and

rape;

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has repeatedly violated the principles of the freedom of the

press by subjecting journalists, such as Radio Free Liberty/Radio Europe correspondent Andrei Babitsky, who

oppose or question its policies to censorship, intimidation,

harassment, incarceration, and violence;

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation continues its military campaign in Chechnya, including the

use of indiscriminate force, causing further dislocation of

people from their homes, the deaths of noncombatants

and widespread suffering;

Whereas this war contributes to ethnic hatred and religious

intolerance within the Russian Federation, jeopardizes

prospects for the establishment of democracy in the Russian Federation, undercuts the ability of the international

community to trust the Russian Federation as a signatory to international agreements, generates political instability within the Russian Federation, and is a threat

to the peace in the region; and

Whereas the Senate expresses its concern over the war and

humanitarian tragedy in Chechnya, and its desire for a
3

•SRES 269 IS

peaceful and durable settlement to the conflict: Now,

therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that—

2 (1) the indifference of most Western govern3 ments, including that of the United States, toward

4 this conflict has encouraged the Government of the

5 Russian Federation to intensify and expand its mili6 tary campaign in Chechnya, further contributing to

7 the suffering of the Chechen people;

8 (2) the Acting President of the Russian Federa9 tion, Vladimir Putin, is directly responsible for the

10 conduct of Russian troops in and around Chechnya

11 and accountable for war crimes and atrocities com12 mitted by them against the Chechen people;

13 (3) the Acting President of the Russian Federa14 tion should—

15 (A) immediately cease the military oper16 ations in Chechnya and initiate negotiations to17 ward a just peace with the leadership of the

18 Chechen government, including President Aslan

19 Maskhadov;

20 (B) grant international missions immediate

21 full and unimpeded access into Chechnya and

22 surrounding regions so that they can monitor

23 and report on the situation there and inves24 tigate alleged atrocities and war crimes;
4

•SRES 269 IS

1 (C) allow international humanitarian agen2 cies immediate full and unimpeded access to

3 Chechen civilians, including those in refugee,

4 detention and so-called ‘‘filtration camps’’ or

5 any other facility where citizens of Chechnya

6 are detained; and

7 (D) investigate fully the atrocities com8 mitted in Chechnya, including those alleged in

9 Alkhan-Yurt and Grozny, and initiate prosecu10 tions against officers and soldiers accused of

11 those atrocities;

12 (4) the President of the United States should—

13 (A) affirm respect for human rights, demo14 cratic rule of law, and international account15 ability as a foundation of United States foreign

16 policy;

17 (B) affirm respect for human rights, demo18 cratic rule of law, and international account19 ability as a precondition to United States-Rus20 sian cooperation;

21 (C) reevaluate United States foreign policy

22 toward the Russian Federation given its con23 duct in Chechnya, remilitarization, and ques24 tionable commitment to democracy;
5

•SRES 269 IS

1 (D) support societal forces in the Russian

2 Federation fighting to preserve democracy

3 there, including empowering human rights ac4 tivists and promoting programs designed to

5 strengthen the independent media, trade

6 unions, political parties, civil society, and the

7 democratic rule of law;

8 (E) promote peace negotiations between

9 the Government of the Russian Federation and

10 the leadership of the Chechen government, in11 cluding President Aslan Maskhadov, through

12 third-party mediation by the Organization for

13 Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE),

14 the United Nations, or other appropriate par15 ties;

16 (F) endorse the call of the United Nations

17 High Commissioner for Human Rights for an

18 investigation of alleged war crimes committed

19 by the Russian military in Chechnya; and

20 (G) take tangible steps to demonstrate to

21 the Government of the Russian Federation that

22 the United States strongly condemns its con23 duct in Chechnya and its unwillingness to find

24 a just political solution to the conflict in

25 Chechnya, including—
6

•SRES 269 IS

1 (i) a refusal to participate in bilateral

2 summit meetings with the Government of

3 the Russian Federation;

4 (ii) a call for the suspension of the

5 Russian Federation from the forum of G–

6 7 plus 1 state; and

7 (iii) a suspension of financial assist8 ance to the Russian Federation provided

9 through the International Monetary Fund,

10 the World Bank, the Export-Import Bank

11 of the United States, and the Overseas

12 Private Investment Corporation; and

13 (5) the President of the United States should

14 not reverse the actions taken under paragraph

15 (4)(G) until the Government of the Russian Federa16 tion has—

17 (A) ceased its military operations in

18 Chechnya and initiated negotiations toward a

19 just peace with the leadership of the Chechen

20 government led by President Aslan Maskhadov;

21 (B) provided full and unimpeded access

22 into and around Chechnya to international mis23 sions to monitor and report on the situation

24 there and to investigate alleged atrocities and

25 war crimes;
7

•SRES 269 IS

1 (C) granted international humanitarian

2 agencies immediate full and unimpeded access

3 to Chechen civilians, including those in refugee,

4 detention, and so-called ‘‘filtration camps’’ or

5 any other facility where citizens of Chechnya

6 are detained; and

7 (D) investigated fully the atrocities com8 mitted in Chechnya including those alleged in

9 Alkhan-Yurt and Grozny, and initiated prosecu10 tions against officers and soldiers accused of

11 those atrocities.

Æ