WRITTEN QUESTION E-0748/03 by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Council. Abduction of civilians in Grozny (Chechnya).
Date: 2003-03-11
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Russia, civilian victim, foreign policy, government violence, human rights, illegal restraint, war of independence

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Croatia, subject to its fulfilling the conditions laid down in the Treaty on European Union, the criteria
defined by the European Council of Copenhagen in June 1993 and the successful implementation of the
SAA, notably regional co-operation.

As indicated in the reply to question 1, at this stage, the Commission cannot speculate on any possible
date for accession. The pace of Croatia’s political, economic, legal and administrative reform process will
determine when the country will be able to fulfil the above mentioned criteria.

(1) The Croatian Ministry for Public Works, Reconstruction and Construction, Department for Expellees, Returnees and

Refugees.

(2004/C 51 E/047)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0748/03

by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Council

(11 March 2003)

Subject: Abduction of civilians in Grozny (Chechnya)

According to the Society for Russian-Chechen Friendship, the following abductions of Chechen civilians
have been reported since January 2003:
in Grozny and suburbs: on 29 December 2002: Ramzan
Gamarigov (35) (resident at 4, Lomonosov Street); on 3 January 2003: Mr Mashaev and three of his sons
(resident in Yablochnaya Street) and Mr Yunus Alimukaev; on 4 January 2003: Mr Ismail Makhmudov (26)
(resident at 33, Gudermeskaya Street); on 14 January 2003: Mrs Angela Shakhmurzaeva (31), Mr Hassan
Ustarkhanov (28), Mr Aslan Baisultanov and Mr Aslan Musaev (25) (all resident at 23, Rosa Luxemburg
Street); on 3 February 2003: Mr Hanpasha Bukhaev (30) (resident in Noviye Aldy, Grozny);
in Urus-
Martan: on 29 January 2003: Mrs Seda Tsagaraeva; in Achkhoi-Martan and district: on 15 January 2003:
Mr Yaragi Ismailov (45), Mr Khizri Ismailov (40), Mr Aslan Ismailov (22), Mr Aslambek Ismailov (20) and
Mr Yusup Daidaev (50) (all resident at 22, Orekhovaya Street); on 28 January 2003: Mr Taus Murtasov
(30) (resident in the village of Orekhovo near Achkhoi-Martan); in Vedeno and district: on 27 January
2003: Mr Shamil Khabusiev (45) (resident in the village of Neftyanka); in Shali and district: on 17 January
2003: Islam Ibragimov (21) (resident in Shali) and Apti Saidulaev (25) (resident in Shali); on 4 February
2003: Mr Idris A. Dakhaev (28) (resident in Serzhen-Yurt).

Is the Council aware of these recent abductions of civilians? Is the Council making any attempt to monitor
the number of people abducted, as well as the number of people executed after being abducted? In light of
the repeated war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Russian forces in Chechnya, does
the Council intend to undertake any political and judicial initiatives in the competent international bodies
such as the Council of Europe and the UN Commission on Human Rights?

Reply

(29 September 2003)

The Council has received no detailed information about the cases of civilian abductions mentioned in the
question. The Council naturally follows closely the situation in the Chechen Republic of the Russian
Federation. It does not, however, have the means to carry out detailed monitoring on the ground. For such
information, the Council looks to the Council of Europe.

The Council raises the question of human rights abuses and the rule of law in the Chechen Republic on all
possible occasions when meeting the Russian authorities. EU concerns were raised at the Cooperation
Council with Russia on 15 April 2003, and were on the EU’s agenda for the St Petersburg Summit on
31 May.

Moreover, the EU will continue to raise its concerns in the framework of international organisations such
as the OSCE and the UN. In this connection, the EU tabled a resolution at the UN Commission on Human

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Rights on 7 April 2003, underlining the importance of full respect for human rights and condemning the
reported ongoing violations of international human rights law in the Chechen Republic, namely the forced
disappearances and arbitrary detentions and executions. The Council would point out that this resolution
was not however adopted by the UN Commission on Human Rights.

(2004/C 51 E/048)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0758/03

by Nelly Maes (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(12 March 2003)

Subject: Observation of elections

The last election observation mission in which I took part,
advantages of a joint delegation with representatives from the ACP and the EU.

in Kenya in late 2002, demonstrated the

Does the Council intend to send joint delegations systematically for the observation of elections?

One problem with joint delegations is that representatives from the EU have much greater resources at
their disposal than their colleagues from the ACP.

How does the Council intend to remedy this problem?

A recurring question during election observation missions is whether ACP countries could also come to
observe elections in EU countries. In the Netherlands, it has been demonstrated that observation missions
of this kind can be highly useful.

Which Member States, apart from the Netherlands, have already invited delegations of this kind, and which
are prepared to do so?

Is the Council prepared to recommend this suggestion to Member States?

Reply

(29 September 2003)

The Council conclusions on election assistance and observation of 26 June 2001 (9990/01) emphasised its
commitment to contributing to peace and security and to promoting a stable and democratic political
environment as outlined in Article 1 of the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement. These conclusions are
consistent with the political dialogue provided for by the Cotonou Agreement, in particular in Article 8(3)
thereof.

Decisions to send EU electoral observation missions are based on an assessment of the political situation of
the country and the potential effect of EU electoral observation and the availability of resources as well as
the relative priority of each mission to be undertaken. At the moment, Council bodies are examining the
priorities for election observation in the second half of 2003 and 2004.

The Commission is in charge of the organisation and implementation, including financial resources, of
electoral observation missions. In this context, the Commission submits its priorities to the Council and
Parliament for political approval.

With a view to nominating joint delegations for election observation missions,
the ACP-EU Joint
Parliamentary Assembly may refer to appropriate bodies though itself remaining the competent body to
decide on the sending of such joint delegations.

The Council was not aware of any Member States having invited ACP delegations to observe elections in
the EU.