Information Documents

SG/Inf(2001) 8             Addendum

13 March 2001

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Addendum to the Sixth Interim Report by the Secretary General on the presence of Council of Europe’s Experts in the Office of the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for ensuring Human Rights and Civil Rights and Freedoms in the Chechen Republic

Additional information

provided by the Secretary General

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Introductory remarks

1.      In the present document, the Secretary General provides the Ministers' Deputies with additional relevant information on the situation of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in the Chechen Republic, Russian Federation, for the period mid-February – mid-March 2001[1] (see decision of the Ministers’ Deputies of 10 October 2000, CM/Del/Dec(2000)725, item 1.7).

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights

2.      Further to the request by the Committee of Ministers, Mr Alvaro Gil-Robles, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, visited Moscow and the Chechen Republic from 25 February to 4 March 2001. The purpose of the visit was to monitor developments in the general situation in Chechnya, particularly with regard to the enjoyment of human rights, and in the implementation of the recommendations issued by the Commissioner during his two previous visits to the Russian Federation, in December 1999 and February 2000, and at the Vladikavkaz seminar on 30 May 2000.

3.      Particular aims of the Commissioner’s third visit were to find out more about the activities of the Office of the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for ensuring Human Rights and Civil Rights and Freedoms in the Chechen Republic, Mr Vladimir Kalamanov, which had been set up following a recommendation by the Commissioner, and to assess the possibilities for social and economic reconstruction in the region. During his visit, the Commissioner held meetings with leading Russian officials, including Mr Ivanov, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Yelagin, Federal Minister responsible for co-ordinating the activities of the federal authorities on the social and economic development of Chechnya, Mr Yastrjembsky, Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation, as well as Mr Kalamanov.

4.      The Commissioner, visiting Chechnya for the third time in eighteen months, noted that the general situation was still very difficult. People had been forced to leave the regions where they lived and were being housed in refugee camps, where the conditions were extremely tough and, in most cases, there were no opportunities for work.  The population was faced with severe food shortages. Nevertheless, there were a few faint signs of an improvement in the situation and a return to normality (see the Commissioner's report on the internet site: http://www.commissioner.coe.int).

European Union (EU)

5.      In its Resolution on the situation in Chechnya of 15 February 2001, the European Parliament pointed out "the fact that most of the commitments made by Moscow to the international community have not been honoured up to now" and "emphasis[ed] the need for an independent commission to look into allegations of war crimes committed by both sides of the conflict". According to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Resolution of the European Parliament, "containing a set of long outdated reproaches and accusations against the Russian authorities that have nothing in common with reality, attests to either the obvious shortage of information on the actual situation in Chechnya, or to the absence among Eurodeputies of a wish to perceive adequately not only the official stand of Russia and [its] arguments, but also the objective facts" (Daily News Bulletin, 20.2.2001, available on this site: http://www.mid.ru).

United Nations (UN)

6.      UN relief bodies decided to resume operations in the Chechen Republic. According to monitors from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of new arrivals from Chechnya to Ingushetia is increasing (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 15.2.2001).

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

7.       The NATO Secretary General indicated that Russian federal authorities could start taking the first steps towards a political settlement in the Chechen Republic as "in any conflict, it always ennobles the stronger party to probe the first steps to peace" (Speech by Lord Robertson, NATO Secretary General at the Moscow State Institute for Foreign Affairs (MGIMO), 21.2.2001).

Russian institutions

8.      Colonel Yuri Budanov has been charged of kidnapping resulting in death, abuse of office accompanied by violence with serious consequences, and murder of an eighteen year-old Chechen woman. His trial was to take place on 28 February 2001, but it has been postponed (Russian Informational Centre, 28.2.2001).

 

9.      The Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for ensuring Human Rights and Civil Rights and Freedoms in the Chechen Republic, Mr Vladimir Kalamanov, travelled to the North Caucasus at the beginning of March. The main purpose of his trip was to make a fact-finding mission regarding the discovery of a mass grave near the Khankala military base (see also paras 11 and 12) as well as to check allegations made by the Russian journalist, Anna Politkovskaya, on the existence of prison pits and commerce of detained persons (see also para. 13). He said that he had no information confirming the journalist's allegations and also recommended avoiding any careless interpretation about the discovery of the above-mentioned mass grave in order to let the competent bodies fulfil their task adequately (see Russian Informational Centre, 2.3.2001 and 7.3.2001).

10.  The Russian Minister responsible for co-ordinating the activities of the federal authorities on the social and economic development of Chechnya, Mr Vladimir Yelagin, announced that an interagency council for the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Chechen Republic, including representatives of humanitarian organisations, would be set-up. He also noted that the Council of Europe would be able to assist in controlling the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Chechen Republic (Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Daily News Bulletin, 27.2.2001).

11.  On 2 March 2001, the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Sergey Ivanov, indicated that "the partial withdrawal of troops from the territory of the Chechen Republic does not mean a termination of counter-terrorist operations. They will be continued with no less intensity but with the use of other means. Now more attention will be given to special operations" (Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Daily News Bulletin, 6.3.2001).

12.  On 8 March 2001, the commander of the Joint Group of Forces in the Northern Caucasus, Valery Baranov, told journalists in Khankala that troops would start pulling out in March and that a timetable for withdrawing units and detachments had been set and approved. The commander observed that the general situation in Chechnya was entirely under control, but did not deny that terrorist acts were still being perpetrated within Chechen territory (Russian Informational Centre/Interfax, 8.2.2001).

13.  At the trial of two Chechens accused for terrorism, the Daghestani Prosecutor's Office demanded the death penalty (RIA - Novosti, 26.2.2001).

Non-Governmental Organisations

14.  At a press conference on 5 March 2001, the Chairman and the Executive Director of the Memorial Human Rights Centre provided an analysis with respect to the bodies found in a mass grave discovered near Khankala and concluded that the overwhelming majority of cases concerned illegal executions of persons formerly detained by Russian authorities. They indicated that the existence of such mass graves is not exceptional in Chechnya. They also severely criticised the way in which the investigation on the matter is being carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office (for more details consult, in particular, Memorial internet site at http://www.memo.ru).

15.  In a letter to the Secretary General dated 26 February 2001, Human Rights Watch (HRW) expressed the view that the Council of Europe "could play an important role in ensuring a transparent investigation into the mass grave and, if a determination is made that the deceased were summarily executed, in ensuring a meaningful accountability process for those responsible". More specifically, HRW urged the Council of Europe to "file a request with the Russian government that the Council of Europe experts who work in the office of Mr Vladimir Kalamanov be present during the investigation of the grave as independent witnesses" and "offer to send a team of forensic and other appropriate experts to assist in the investigation".

16.  In two letters sent to the Minister of Defence and the Minister of Information of the Russian Federation, Reporters sans frontières (RSF) protested about the arrest of Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist of the Russian daily, Novaya Gazeta, which took place on 20 February 2001. The RSF Secretary General stated that the "rules of accreditation for journalists are totally arbitrary. This arrest shows that journalists critical of the involvement of the Russian authorities in the conflict are not allowed into Chechnya" (RSF, 22.2.2001). The Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) stated that the Anna Politkovskaya case illustrated the authorities' attitude towards the media which may be seen as an attempt to replace compliance with the law with artificial rules and principles. It further indicated that fifteen similar cases occurred in 2000, including the Babitsky case (RUJ Statement on the detention of Anna Politkovskaya, 26.2.2001; see also Glastnost Defence Foundation Digest N°29 on the incident concerning the "RIA - Novosti" correspondent, Alexandra Stepanova, 5.3.2001).

17.  In January 2001, the Chechen-American organisation "Lam" conducted a public opinion survey about humanitarian activities in Chechnya and Ingushetia and concluded that persons in Chechnya did not receive sufficient aid. The organisation suggested, inter alia, to create a unified public centre for coordinating humanitarian aid which would be run by representatives of international organisations and local officials, as well as by local NGOs and community leaders (Lam, Dispatches from Chechnya N°8, 15.2.2001; see also para. 8).

APPENDIX

Composition of the Government of the Chechen Republic

(Source: Russian Informational Centre, 5 March 2001)

ILIASOV, Stanislav Valentinovich – Deputy Head of the Administration of the Chechen Republic, President of the Government of the Chechen Republic

ALEKSENTSEV, Viktor Andreyevich – Vice-President of the Government of the Chechen Republic, Head of the Government Apparatus of the Chechen Republic

EM, Yuri Pavlovich – Vice-President of the Government of the Chechen Republic

Members of the Government of the Chechen Republic

GANTAMIROV, Bislan Saidaliyevich – Mayor of the City of Grozny

SUGAIPOV, Abu Abdurakhmanovich – Minister for Municipal Economy and Housing

DADAYEV, Lema Mukhadinovich – Minister for General and Vocational Education

OSMAYEV, Movla Kamilovich – Minister for Culture

VASSILENKO, Vassily Anatolievich – Minister for Press, Broadcasting and Mass Media Affairs

DOSHUKAYEV, Musa Khisayinovich – Minister for Industry, Science, Telecommunications and Information Technology

ABDURAKHMANOV, Dukuvakha Bashtayevich – Minister for Agriculture and Food

BAKHAYEV, Makhomed Khumayidovich – Minister for Labour and Social Welfare

ABRAMOV, Sergei – Minister for Finance

GAVRILOV, Ilya Imanulovich – First Vice-Chair of the Chechen Republic Government Committee on Common Public Services