Strasbourg, 11/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - Last week in Strasbourg, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe devoted a long debate to the situation in Chechnya. After the discussion, it adopted a series of resolutions and recommendations in which it recognises the need to fight terrorism but also insists at length on measures that are essential for guaranteeing respect of human rights, democratic norms and the primacy of law in the Chechen Republic. The Assembly decided to create a round table for organising regular discussion with political parties, the members of the local political classes in Chechnya and Russian federal authorities.
The Assembly condemns all criminal acts that constitute serious violation of human rights committed by those upholding the conflict, and particularly the "bloodbath" which occurred when hostages were taken in Beslan. It nonetheless also notes that massive and persistent violation of human rights in the Chechen Republic is "by far the most serious human rights problem of all member nations of the Council of Europe" and that the credibility of the organisation as a whole depends on its ability to convince the Russian Federation to comply with its commitments in this respect.
The Council of Europe and its Member States cannot remain inactive in the face of terrorist attacks, ambush sniping, landmines, abuse of force by security forces and organised crime that kill people every day in Chechnya, the Assembly states. It expresses the fear that the recent wave of terrorist attacks could lead to a further escalation of violence and to a worsening in the human rights situation in the North Caucasus region.
In the context of a very long catalogue of measures to improve the situation, the Parliamentary Assembly calls on the Russian government to ensure that measures to combat terrorism are taken or foreseen and that they are conform to human rights standards. It calls on the Russian Federation to: (1) sign up to the Council of Europe Agreement on the creation of a Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), whereby it will prove its political resolve to fight against corruption and organised crime; and (2) recognise and strengthen the use of the Chechen language in public life in Chechnya. The Assembly calls on the UN, OSCE and the European Union to closely follow the political situation and the human rights situation in the Chechen Republic. It also urges the European Union to cooperate with the Council of Europe in promoting democracy and the primacy of law in Chechnya, for example through specific joint action programmes. The Member States of the Council of Europe are invited to use every opportunity in bilateral and multilateral relations with the Russian Federation to recall the need to respect human rights, including when it comes to combating terrorism and separatism.