III

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. RES. 280

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

with the Russian Federation in view of the situation in Chechnya.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 30, 2000

Mr. WELLSTONE 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 in view

of the situation in Chechnya.

Whereas the Senate of the United States unanimously passed

Senate Resolution 262 on February 24, 2000, condemning the indiscriminate use of force by the Government of the Russian Federation against the people of

Chechnya, encouraging peace negotiations between the

Government of the Russian Federation and the leadership of the Chechen Government, and urging the Government of the Russian Federation to immediately grant

international organizations full and unimpeded access

into Chechnya in order to provide humanitarian assistance and investigate alleged atrocities and war crimes;
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Whereas the Committee of Foreign Relations of the Senate

received credible evidence and testimony reporting grave

human rights violations on both sides of the war in

Chechnya;

Whereas the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate

received credible evidence and testimony that Russian

forces in Chechnya caused the deaths of countless thousands of innocent civilians and the displacement of well

over 250,000 innocents; forcibly relocated refugee populations; and committed widespread atrocities including

summary executions, arbitrary detentions, torture, and

rape;

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation continues its military campaign in Chechnya through the use

of indiscriminate force, causing further dislocation of people from their homes, the deaths of unarmed civilians and

widespread suffering;

Whereas this war contributes to ethnic hatred and religious

intolerance within the Russian Federation, and could divert much-needed international development assistance,

undercut the ability of the international community to

trust the Russian Federation as a signatory to international agreements, generate political instability within

the Russian Federation, and be a continuing threat to

the peace in the region; and

Whereas the Senate again expresses its deep concern over the

war and humanitarian tragedy in Chechnya, and its desire for a peaceful and durable settlement to the conflict:

Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that—
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1 (1) the lack of vigorous and sustained action of

2 most Western governments, including that of the

3 United States, to respond to the conflict in

4 Chechnya could be too easily interpreted by the Gov5 ernment of the Russian Federation as indifference to

6 it and thus allow that government to intensify and

7 expand its military campaign there, further contrib8 uting to the suffering of the Chechen people;

9 (2) the President of the Russian Federation,

10 Vladimir Putin, is responsible for the conduct of

11 Russian troops in and around Chechnya and has an

12 obligation to ensure compliance with international

13 humanitarian law and human rights norms, includ14 ing the obligation to prevent present and future

15 atrocities there, and to investigate fully atrocities al16 ready committed, and to initiate, where appropriate,

17 prosecutions against those accused;

18 (3) the Government of the Russian Federation

19 and the leadership of the Chechen Government

20 should immediately cease military operations in

21 Chechnya and seek a negotiated settlement to the

22 conflict there;

23 (4) the President of the Russian Federation

24 should—
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1 (A) act immediately to end human rights

2 violations by Russian soldiers in Chechnya;

3 (B) allow immediate, full, and unimpeded

4 access into and around Chechnya international

5 monitors to assess and report on the situation

6 there and to investigate alleged atrocities and

7 war crimes;

8 (C) allow international humanitarian agen9 cies immediate, full, and unimpeded access to

10 Chechen civilians, including those in refugee,

11 detention, and ‘‘filtration’’ camps, or any other

12 facility where citizens of Chechnya are detained;

13 and

14 (D) investigate fully atrocities committed

15 in Chechnya, including those alleged in Alkhan16 Yurt and Grozny, and initiate, where appro17 priate, prosecutions against those accused;

18 (5) the President of the United States of Amer19 ica should—

20 (A) affirm respect for human rights, demo21 cratic rule of law, and international account22 ability as a foundation of United States foreign

23 policy;

24 (B) affirm respect for human rights, demo25 cratic rule of law, and international account-
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1 ability as a condition for continued United

2 States-Russian cooperation;

3 (C) conduct a full and comprehensive re4 view of United States foreign policy toward the

5 Russian Federation with respect to its conduct

6 in Chechnya, and its implications for United

7 States-Russian relations;

8 (D) promote peace negotiations between

9 the Government of the Russian Federation and

10 the leadership of the Chechen Government

11 through third-party mediation by the OSCE As12 sistance Group in Chechnya, the United Na13 tions, or other appropriate parties;

14 (E) publicly and openly support societal

15 forces in the Russian Federation working to

16 preserve democracy there, including empowering

17 human rights activists and promoting programs

18 designed to strengthen the independent media,

19 trade unions, political parties, and other institu20 tions of a democratic civil society there; and

21 (F) take further, more tangible steps to

22 demonstrate to the Government of the Russian

23 Federation that the United States strongly con24 demns its conduct in Chechnya and its unwill-
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1 ingness to find a just political solution to the

2 conflict there, including—

3 (i) sponsoring a Resolution at the

4 56th annual meeting of the United Nations

5 Human Rights Commission in Geneva,

6 Switzerland, expressing the Commission’s

7 serious concern about reports of very grave

8 violations of human rights and humani9 tarian law in Chechnya, and including pro10 visions, such as the establishment of a

11 Commission of Inquiry, to investigate accu12 sations of violations of the Geneva Conven13 tion Relative to the Protection of Civilian

14 Persons in Time of War, and other inter15 national humanitarian law;

16 (ii) supporting the appointment of a

17 United Nations Special Rapporteur for

18 Chechnya; and

19 (iii) placing the war in Chechnya at

20 the top of the agenda of all high-level dip21 lomatic meetings involving the United

22 States and the Russian Federation; and

23 (6) the President of the United States should

24 not reverse actions taken under paragraph (5)(f)
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1 until the Government of the Russian Federation

2 has—

3 (A) acted forcefully and effectively to end

4 human rights violations by Russian soldiers in

5 Chechnya;

6 (B) provided full and unimpeded access

7 into and around Chechnya to international

8 monitors to assess and report on the situation

9 there and to investigate alleged atrocities and

10 war crimes;

11 (C) granted international humanitarian

12 agencies full and unimpeded access to Chechen

13 civilians, including those in refugee, detention,

14 and ‘‘filtration’’ camps, or any other facility

15 where citizens of Chechnya are detained; and

16 (D) begun to investigate fully atrocities

17 committed in Chechnya, including those alleged

18 in Alkhan-Yurt and Grozny, and initiated,

19 where appropriate, prosecutions against those

20 accused.

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