# CE2004088EN.01014201.xml

| 8.4.2004 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | CE 88/142 |
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8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 88/142

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(2004/C 88 E/0150)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3382/03

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission

(17 November 2003)

Subject:   Kidnapping of a Médecins Sans Frontières volunteer

Subject:

Arian Erkel, the head of the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) mission in the Caucuses was kidnapped by three armed men in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, on 12 August 2003. MSF has had no news of him since then, nor has it received any demands or any call for a ransom. Dr Erkel is the fourth MSF volunteer to be kidnapped in the Northern Caucuses since 1996. 56 humanitarian workers have been kidnapped in this region since 1995. Around 200 000 people (approximately 20 % of the population) have died since the initial conflict began in 1994, while another 300 000 have been forced to flee either to camps set up on Chechen territory or to those in Ingushetia. This umpteenth kidnapping of a humanitarian worker testifies to the insecurity in which they have to operate and the risks run by all those who want to provide aid to civilian populations but work in areas where violence is a fact of daily life and no respect is shown for humanitarian actions. In view of this disastrous and distressing situation:

| 1. | What can the Commission do to come to the aid of Dr Erkel. |
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1.

What can the Commission do to come to the aid of Dr Erkel.

| 2. | What action will the Commission take to enable independent humanitarian organisations to work in safety, to guarantee them access to civilian populations, both in Chechnya and in the neighbouring regions flooded with refugees, and to ensure that negotiations are reopened? |
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2.

What action will the Commission take to enable independent humanitarian organisations to work in safety, to guarantee them access to civilian populations, both in Chechnya and in the neighbouring regions flooded with refugees, and to ensure that negotiations are reopened?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(17 December 2003)

(17 December 2003)

The Commission is deeply concerned for the welfare of Mr Erkel, who was working on a European Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO)-funded project at the time he was kidnapped in Dagestan. The Commission has on numerous occasions — including at the EU/Russia Summit in Rome on 6 November 2003 — asked for the help of Russia in gaining the early release of Mr Erkel.

The Commission — via ECHO — is the largest donor of humanitarian aid in the north Caucasus. It is aware of the extremely poor security conditions which exist for humanitarian workers, notably in Chechnya itself. In this regard, the Commission has repeatedly called on the Russian authorities to facilitate the provision of humanitarian aid — by facilitating access of humanitarian workers to Chechnya, by providing non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with access to United Nations very high frequency (UN VHF) communications, by ensuring security for aid workers and by allowing ECHO to open an office in Nazran, Ingushetia. It regrets that Russia has not yet taken concrete measures to do so. On the contrary, the system of access permits to Chechnya has become even more opaque than before and high insecurity continues to prevail.

The Commission will continue to use political dialogue meetings to call on the Russian authorities to improve the security and access situation in the north Caucasus.

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