Resolution by the IHF General Assembly on the Human Rights Crisis in the Chechen Republic and Its Threatening Implications

Blatant violations of human rights and humanitarian law, such as forced disappearances, extrajudicial executions and torture remain pervasive in Chechnya, and perpetrators are not brought to justice. Civilians are the main victims, suffering from atrocities primarily committed by federal troops and Chechnya law enforcement agencies, but also by the rebels.

The General Assembly of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF), held in Moscow on 11-14 November 2004, affirmed its strong belief that the Chechen conflict can only be solved by political means. The Helsinki Committees stated that all sides that are needed to reach a viable political settlement must be engaged in negotiations in order to overcome the present impasse. As a specific constructive step, they expressed support for the initiative of the All-Russian Union of the Soldiers Mothers Committees to give an impulse to the process of negotiations.

The International Helsinki Federation is convinced that the human rights crisis in Chechnya deeply affects the situation in the Russian Federation as a whole. Chechnya represents a catalyst for an increasingly repressive and authoritarian regime in the country a militarized society. The IHF condemned, in particular, the initiative of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, the chief official supervising compliance with the law, who proposed to take family-members of individuals suspected of terrorism hostage as a necessary and effective measure to fight terrorism. The IHF emphasized that such developments in Russia are not an internal matter of the Russian Federation, but a threat to the rule of law and human rights in the OSCE region, which must in turn be a concern of the international community.

The IHF noted that by failing adequately to denounce and sanction massive violations of human rights in Chechnya and attacks against democracy in Russia as a whole, European Union countries and the United States acquiesce to the continued deterioration of the human rights climate.

The Helsinki Committees expressed serious concern about the blockade on objective information relevant to the Chechen conflict and the human rights situation in the region by the Russian government.  The IHF particularly condemns the persecution of human rights defenders and independent journalists.

In its Report from 20 September 2004, the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) confirmed that "the human rights situation in the Chechen Republic remains catastrophic" and did not acknowledge any notable progress with regard to fighting impunity for human rights violations. In this light, the IHF called upon the international community to work toward the creation of an ad hoc tribunal, following the PACE resolution of March 2003.

In order to contribute to this process, the IHF invited human rights NGOs in the OSCE territory to join forces toward the creation of  a consolidated data base with evidence that could be passed on to such a tribunal.

Moscow and Vienna, November 15, 2004