RIGHTS-CHECHNYA: Human Rights Watch Questions UN Proposal

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Apr 5 2000 (IPS) - Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the United Nations (UN) Commission on Human Rights Wednesday to entrust international experts with investigating violations in Chechnya that the UN attributes to Russian troops and to rebels from the breakaway republic.

HRW, a New York-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), says that if the UN leaves the investigation in the hands of a Russian commission, “it will abdicate its solemn responsibility to safeguard human rights.”

UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, who spoke before the Commission on Human Rights Tuesday, avoided making references to the specific situation of any one country in statements meant primarily to stress the responsibility of governments in complying with international humanitarian law.

The Chechnya issue has become the most-talked-about problem at the current sessions of the Commission, which are to end April 28. Events in this rebel republic has overshadowed the serious human rights problems also pending in Colombia, Mexico, China, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, and others.

But there is still no international project underway for resolving the case, despite the fact that human rights NGOs have been active on the Chechnya question from the beginning.

For the second time in five years, Russian troops launched a campaign in the area to squelch the uprising of irregular forces from the Chechen population, which is majority Muslim.

The greatest concern about the situation in Chechnya has come from the European Union, which has made several gestures before Russian authorities regarding inquiries into human rights violations.

Meanwhile, the Organisation of Islamic Conference, which unites the majority-Muslim nations, has so far maintained an expectant attitude, in contrast with the active role it played a year ago when the Commission’s key issue was the crisis in Kosovo, where Muslims also are the majority.

The idea of establishing a broad, independent national Russian commission was proposed to Moscow authorities by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, who last week visited the scene of the conflict in this Caucasus mountain region.

Back in Geneva Wednesday, Robinson presented her evaluation of the humanitarian situation in Chechnya and in the Russian Federation before the Commission on Human Rights.

The official said the “most pressing issue concerns the adequacy and credibility of the response by the Russian authorities to the scale of allegations of gross human rights violations.”

Among the charges, Robinson listed mass killings, extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, violence against women, torture, arbitrary detention and pillage.

She acknowledged that Russian authorities have initiated some processes to resolve the conflict, but given the “depth of bitterness, resentment and grievance of the civilian population,” the situation requires a different level of response, such as the proposed national commission.

The High Commissioner pointed out that in the case of East Timor, the Commission on Human Rights supported the creation of a national commission in Indonesia and of a similar organisation for international integration, co-ordinated by the UN.

But HRW rejected the notion that a Russian inquiry could substitute an international team, and called on the UN Commission to establish, instead, a thorough and transparent investigation.

The humanitarian organisation argues that Robinson failed to underscore the parallel need for the UN to create an international investigative body.

Holly Cartner, executive director of HRW’s Europe and Central Asia division, maintained that Russian inquiries into the atrocities in Chechnya “have simply not been credible.”

Cartner said HRW had collected evidence of the summary executions of more than 100 civilians in Chechnya and said the group estimates that the number of such killings is much higher.

She also stated that HRW has detailed accounts of rape, torture, abuse and other serious human rights crimes committed by Russian troops in Chechnya.

In contrast, the report Robinson presented left open the possibility that the violations could be attributed to the Russian government forces as well as the Chechen guerrillas.

The Commission on Human Rights ruled that it would study Robinson’s report and the situation of the Caucasus region at a special session to be held Tuesday, April 11.