Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-01-15-Speech-3-280"
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"en.20030115.12.3-280"2
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".
The issues raised by the honourable Members have been raised on numerous occasions during political dialogue with Russia. Obviously, the situation in the Russian Republic of Chechnya continues to cause the European Union a great deal of concern. It is clear from the most recent progress report by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe that, unfortunately, there are still serious failings in Chechnya when it comes to human rights and the rule of law.
With this human rights situation in Chechnya, it is a real pity that we let the OSCE Assistance Group mandate lapse. The ΟSCE has done a useful job since 1995, when its mandate started, and the ΕU has called on the Russian Government to make every possible effort to ensure there is a follow-on Assistance Group with a broad mandate.
On the other hand, the constant presence of Council of Europe experts at the Office of the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation, in order to safeguard human rights and political rights and freedoms in Chechnya, is fairly encouraging. It proves that there are Russian authorities working to resolve the issues raised by the ΕU and other agencies.
The European Court of Human Rights considered that Moscow has given sufficient guarantees to allow persons of Chechen origin who appear to be terrorists to be extradited to Russia. As one of these guarantees, Russia has confirmed that the accused will not face the death penalty, their health and safety will be assured and they will have unobstructed access to suitable medical care and legal assistance.
As far as the situation of people moved from Chechnya to Ingushetia is concerned, the ΕU has accepted additional assurances on the part of the Russian authorities that they will not be forced to return against their will. At the same time, concern is still being voiced about the fate of those who do return to Chechnya. The ΕU has insisted that suitable conditions for these people to return to and live in must be provided in advance.
As far as preventing abuse by the security forces is concerned, recent comments by Russian ministers on the subject indicate that they are determined to curb acknowledged cases of abuse. We can only hope that the recent replacement of the head of Russian military operations in Chechnya sent the military establishment a clear message that the law must be obeyed by everyone without exception.
We need to understand the general climate of fear and insecurity among the Chechen people, as well as the anxiety of the Russian authorities, especially after the attack on Grozny on 27 December 2002. With all this and the unhappy political situation, due importance must be attached to efforts by both the Russian Parliament and the Government to impose adequate political control on military action in Chechnya.
Finally, the ΕU is currently examining its position and its strategy for the forthcoming 59th Assembly of the UN Commission on Human Rights. I cannot give you any details until suitable negotiations have been held with all the Member States."@en1
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