WRITTEN QUESTION E-0707/00

by Andre Brie (GUE/NGL) to the Council

(14 March 2000)

Subject: Council's position regarding media reports of extremely serious human rights violations, notably murder, torture, rape and looting, by Russian forces in Chechnya

Across a very wide section of the international media, there has recently been extensive reporting of numerous instances of murder, torture, rape and looting by Russian forces in Chechnya.

1. Can the Council confirm these reports, and what is its own assessment of these alleged occurrences?

2. What steps has the Council taken to reliably investigate the truth of these very serious allegations?

3. What action does the Council intend to take against Russia, should these reports prove to be accurate?

4. Does the Council intend to seek, or, possibly, support, international action to prosecute and convict those directly responsible, and those responsible at state level, for murder, torture, rape and looting alleged to have been committed by members of the Russian forces in Chechnya?

5. What are the criteria applied by the Council in determining its position on such international criminal proceedings, in particular on what scale does murder, torture, rape, looting and expulsion for which a state is answerable, which is tolerated by the state or which is caused in some other way by the actions of a state or by the failure of a state to act have to take place in order for the Council of the European Union to support such international action to prosecute and convict those responsible?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-0703/00 and E-0707/00

(26 June 2000)

The Council has repeatedly condemned as totally unacceptable the Russian military action in Chechnya. As stated in repeated public declarations, the Council views all the human rights abuses in Chechnya with the gravest concern. Pressure has been maintained at all levels on the Russian authorities to stop human rights abuses against the Chechen population and the Council will continue to strive for progress in achieving a political settlement to the conflict. It is the belief of the Council that its sustained efforts have begun to yield demonstrable results.

The EU has taken every available opportunity to investigate the situation in Chechnya. In this it has been hampered by the difficulty of gaining access to the region. It has, however, organised a fact-finding visit to Chechnya by EU ambassadors to Moscow. The Council has also actively associated itself with other initiatives in the region. There are strong links and good cooperation with the OSCE, of which Austria is the Chair in office, and the Council of Europe, of which Ireland is the Chair in office.

The conclusions of the Helsinki European Council on 10 and 11 December 1999 condemned the Russian action in the most forthright terms. Since the Helsinki Declaration, it has been working with the European Commission on a revised TACIS programme, which would reduce the aid available to Russia to certain priority areas. This programme will centre on institution building, the promotion of democracy and the rule of law. More recently, the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council on 23/24 March 2000 continued to call on Russia to take immediate steps towards a peaceful solution to the conflict. On 27 March, following the election of President Putin, the High Representative of the Council called for peace in Chechnya to be the first

priority of the new administration. On 6 and 7 April, the Troika is set to visit Moscow, where the EU Presidency will use the opportunity to express its views forcefully to the Russian side. And on 10 April the subject will be on the agenda of the Cooperation Council with Russia to be held in Luxembourg.

The Council has repeatedly demanded that all human rights violations be investigated in a credible and transparent way, and that those implicated in atrocities be brought to justice. The President of the Council expressed deep concern about the situation in Chechnya in his statement on 29 March to the Commission for Human Rights in Geneva.

In the Commission for Human Rights the Presidency, acting on behalf of the European Union, played an active part in the debate on human rights in Chechnya. It submitted a Resolution voicing deep concern at reports of gross, widespread and flagrant violations of human rights in Chechnya and calling for a national, broad-based and independent commission of inquiry to be set up. The Commission voted to adopt the Resolution. The Council is monitoring closely the work of Mr Kalamanov, the Russian Presidential Special Representative for Human Rights. It expects him to contribute to bringing about justice in Chechnya, and restoring some faith in the law. The Council strongly calls on the Russian authorities to make this possible.