ACPC Condemns UN Human Rights
Commission Failure on Chechnya
The American Committee for Peace in Chechnya (ACPC) today condemned the failure
of the UN Human Rights Commission to pass a resolution censuring
Russia for human rights abuses in Chechnya. The resolution failed by a margin
of 15 to 21, with 17 countries abstaining.
"We are very disappointed by today's vote," said ACPC Executive Director
Glen Howard. "Once again, the UN Commission on Human Rights has failed
to match its lofty rhetoric with concrete political action." "In the end, the
only way to stop widespread violations of human rights in Chechnya is to promote
a political framework for peace," Howard said.
Chechnya is a region the size of Connecticut with the population of Vermont. Experts
estimate that at least half of the Chechen population has been killed or displaced
by nearly a decade of war.
"Russian 'cleansing' operations in Chechnya mirror the horrors witnessed in Bosnia
and Kosovo," said Howard, "The international community cannot continue to ignore
the suffering of the Chechen people."
Sponsored by the European Union and several Eastern European states, the draft
resolution strongly condemned violations of international human rights law, including
forced disappearances, extra-judicial executions and torture. The text also condemned
the indiscriminate use of force by Russian troops against Chechen civilians.
"We applaud the United States and European Union for supporting this resolution,"
said Glen Howard. "Despite recent tensions in the transatlantic relationship,
Americans and Europeans have once against demonstrated their shared commitment
to peace and human rights."
Founded in 1999, the American Committee for Peace in Chechnya (ACPC) is a bipartisan
coalition of distinguished Americans dedicated to promoting
a peaceful end to the war in Chechnya.