B4-0031, 0056, 0057, 0058, 0059, 0061, 0068 and 0073/95

Resolution on the situation in Chechnya

The European Parliament,

A. having regard to the Helsinki Final Act and its concluding documents of Vienna and Madrid, to the Charter of Paris for a new Europe and the basic principles of the OSCE as laid down in the Budapest Declaration,

B. reminding the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of Chechnya of its attachment to the principle that no change of frontier can be obtained by force and also that the rights of minorities must be recognized and respected,

C. whereas Article 2 of the Partnership Agreement between the Russian Federation and the European Union states that 'respect for the democratic principles and human rights as defined in particular in the Helsinki Final Act and the Charter of Paris for a new Europe underpin the internal and external policies of the Parties and constitute an essential element of partnership of the present Agreement',

D. having regard to the catastrophic situation in Chechnya where the intervention by Russian troops has developed into a true human disaster causing the deaths of many thousands of civilians of both Chechnyan and Russian origin and hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes,

E. condemning the use of Russian armed force in the conflict, in which the central power of Moscow is confronting one of its national minorities for the first time,

F. welcoming the protests by Russian democrats against the intervention of their own armed forces against Chechnya and, in particular, the efforts by Mr Sergei Kovalev, chairman of the Duma's Committee on Human Rights to settle this crisis and establish peace, freedom and democracy in his country,

G. aware that the war in Chechnya is not only gravely disturbing stability in the region of the northern Caucasus, but is also seriously endangering the democratic and economic reform processes in the Russian Federation,

The European Parliament,

1. Condemns any form of violent intervention to resolve this conflict and denounces the completely disproportionate actions by the Russian authorities and the gross violation of human rights resulting from these actions; calls for an immediate ceasefire in order to stop the human tragedy in Chechnya;

2. Reaffirms its respect for and solidarity with all democratic members of the Russian Parliament who are continuing, in the face of massive pressure, to fight for justice and human rights in Chechnya;

3. Calls urgently on the Russian authorities to respect human and civil rights as laid down in the Geneva Conventions of 1949, the Second Protocol thereto of 1977 and the Code of Conduct concerning the political and military aspects of security contained in the Budapest Declaration (OSCE 1994);

4. Calls upon the authorities of the Russian Federation to bring an immediate halt to its military attack against the people of Chechnya, to start proceedings to find a political solution for the conflict in Chechnya and to allow for an OSCE mission to contribute to such a solution;

5. Urges the Commission, the Council and the Member States to make the necessary humanitarian aid available for the suffering population in Chechnya as well as the refugees there and in the neighbouring Republics; in this connection calls upon the Russian authorities to allow international humanitarian aid to be distributed directly to those in need;

6. Approves the Commission's decision to suspend the process of ratifying the interim agreement between the European Union and Russia and calls on the Council to support this position;

7. Calls on the Commission and the Council not to make any further progress with the final ratification of the Partnership Agreement with the Russian Federation until the military attack and the gross violation of human rights against the people of Chechnya have come to an end and a serious start has been made in finding a political solution to the conflict, considering that Denmark, in any event, does not intend to ratify the Partnership Agreement in the current circumstances;

8. Welcomes the fact that the Council of Europe's Committee on Political Affairs has suspended consideration of the Russian Federation's application for membership and points out that Russia has undertaken in the OSCE to respect human rights on its territory and not to use its army against minorities living within the Federation, and that respect for these undertakings is an absolute precondition for its admittance to the Council of Europe and for progress with the agreements with the European Union under discussion;

9. Appeals to all democratic political forces in the Russian Federation to guarantee the continuation of the process of democratic and economic reform, and responds favourably to the initiative taken by the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian Federation Council to establish constant working contacts with the European Parliament;

10. Stresses the need to support democratic forces within the Russian Parliament and the efforts to negotiate being made by Sergei Kovalev by putting more diplomatic and economic pressure on the central Russian Government, and would be happy to receive a visit from Mr Kovalev;

11. Appeals to President Yeltsin to reconsider his position and seek a political settlement in furtherance and consolidation of the process of democratic reforms in Russia itself, for which the European Union is providing substantial support;

12. Welcomes the OSCE's decision to send a delegation of observers to Chechnya and requests that it should be able to carry out its mission as swiftly as possible and in the best possible circumstances;

13. Decides to send a representative mission of MEPs to Chechnya and Moscow to examine the situation and to report to Parliament in February;

14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Governments of the Member States, the Russian authorities and the Parliament of the Russian Federation, the Chechnyan authorities and the OSCE.