http://www.mn.ru/issue.php?2004-23-61 Moskovskiye Novosti No 23 for 2004 (25.06.2004) "Proceeding to the next item" Boris Yunanov On 21 June deputies at PACE — the "democratic conscience of Europe" - refused to include the Chechen issue in the agenda of its summer session. On 22 June it transpired that the continent's conscience would not be steered away from Chechnya that easily. Upon hearing about the victims and devastation in Nazran, Peter Schieder, chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, held an emergency meeting with the Russian delegation. We discuss, we convey our condolences, and we grieve, he said. Let the international cooperation in the fight against terrorism — the main evil of the modern world — strengthen, he added. The condolences were gratefully accepted. Now the word "Chechnya" will be not be heard in Strasbourg until October — such was the decision of the June session of PACE. As the Chechen-Ingush rebels were finalizing their preparations for the raid on Nazran, PACE deputies with a majority of votes (120 to 40) refused to hold debates on Chechnya. Chechnya can wait, the assembly ruled, the situation in Iraq is of more importance. Rumanian deputy Frunda tried to object. "Iraq is far away, wouldn't it be better to restore order in our own European house, to which Russia, and hence Chechnya, belongs?" But the recommendations from the Russian delegate Konstantin Kosachyov, who called for the debates to be postponed till October, and of the Slovenian deputy Yakic, played the decisive role. PACE rapporteurs visited Chechnya in early June, Yakic said. On the basis of their reports the Assembly's Political Affairs Committee concluded that the issue could be included in the agenda of the autumn session. Deputies Rudolf Bindig and Andreas Gross have actually visited Chechnya and Ingushetia. Commenting on that visit Bindig said that he had seen "certain improvements, progress in certain sectors of the social sphere and economy, although much is yet to be done to restore what was destroyed". Human rights issues, such as security sweeps, unlawful arrests, torture and disappearances, where hardly mentioned in the report at all. According to MN sources, another PACE rapporteur for Chechnya, Polish delegate Tadeusz Iwinski complained in the corridor about the difficulties of receiving truthful information on the activities of official governing bodies in Chechnya. It is also known that on their trip to the rebellious region, Bindig and Gross were accompanied by the deputy chairman of the Duma committee for international affairs, PACE deputy Leonid Slutsky. Slutsky "misinformed" his European colleagues, claims Lev Ponomaryov, a prominent human rights activist and head of the Memorial rights group. "He told them that the office of the Ingush branch of Memorial is closed 'for technical reasons' and that is why the meeting with human rights activists of Chechnya and Ingushetia would have to be cancelled." In truth however, Memorial had no "technical reasons" whatsoever to be closed. At the same time, apparently, Slutsky had his reasons for disrupting the meeting. In the wake of the latest events in Ingushetia PACE was again faced with the Chechnya settlement issue. "I still want to know what the Council of Europe is doing in this sphere?" a deputy from Hungary, Matias Eorsi asked Jan Petersen, Norway's foreign minister, who currently holds the chairmanship in the cabinet of ministers of the Council of Europe. According to the minister's response, the Council of Europe is presently involved in preparations for the presidential elections in Chechnya. Programs for expert assistance have already been prepared and are to be launched as soon as the Council receives the go-ahead from the Russian presidential human rights envoy Vladimir Lukin. "No, no, you've got me wrong, I was talking about something else," the Hungarian delegate interrupted him. "Today 46 people were killed in Ingushetia (as of Tuesday. — MN). Nothing can justify terrorism. Just as nothing can justify discrimination and genocide. You are talking of cultural, electoral and other standards, while I am talking of genocide!" "Thank you, Mr. Eorsi," the chairman summed up. "Proceeding to the next item." Not on the agenda Vice-speaker of PACE and the Deputy Head of the delegation RF in the European Parliament Mikhail MARGELOV - about looking into the "Chechen dossier" By Yury Vasilyev - A half day to the Ingush tragedy, PACE hasn't found this Chechen subject worthy of urgent discussion. You don't see contradictions ? - Let us be precise. Yes, the decision about that there won't be any urgent debates on Chechnya was accepted on Monday. But in reality, the Russian delegation has fought for not conducting of some urgent debates already for several months, during the session of bureau and PACE political commissions in Paris. There they've decided: not to carry it out. The analogous decision have accepted a number of other commissions and political groups. Therefore on Monday, in essence, it was is only discussed in general, that the assembly will carry out some serious debates on the "Chechen dossier" - in October, at the fall session of PACE. [passage omitted] - [tr. by M.L.] News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International Amnesty International urges Dutch EU Presidency to close the gap between rhetoric and practice in EU human rights policy AI Index : EUR 01/003/2004 Date: 29 June 2004 (The Hague/Brussels 29 June 2004) In its recommendations to the Dutch EU Presidency released today, Amnesty International calls for the EU to speak out and act more decisively for human rights in a world where those rights are increasingly under attack. Amnesty International's 18-page document: "Closing the gap between rhetoric and practice: Amnesty International's recommendations to the Dutch EU Presidency" will be available on www.amnesty-eu.org from 10.00 on Tuesday 29 June, 2004. Amnesty International's detailed recommendations include a call for the proposed EU Human Rights Agency to concentrate on human rights compliance within the EU, and the appointment of an EU Special Representative for Human Rights to improve delivery on human rights goals around the world. "Of the major actors, the EU is probably the best placed to take the lead in confronting the global human rights crisis. But that requires more than simply reaffirming values and making passing references to human rights," Dick Oosting, Director of Amnesty International's EU Office, told a media conference today in The Hague. Other speakers at the media conference included the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Theo van Boven and the Chair of Amnesty International's Dutch Section, Lilian Gonçalves-Ho Kang You. "Over the next six months, the Dutch EU Presidency must inject new vitality into the EU human rights agenda, by putting real pressure at the highest level on governments which allow human rights violations to occur. This means actually putting into practice the full arsenal of EU human rights policies adopted over recent years," Dick Oosting said. "We are witnessing a growing gap between the drive to fight 'terrorism' and 'illegal immigration' and the commitment to protect individual rights. Now is the time for the EU to redress this imbalance, at home as well as abroad." Among Amnesty International's many recommendations are: At home: · The new EU Human Rights Agency should monitor human rights within the EU; · The proposed Council framework decision on suspects' and defendants' rights in criminal proceedings should not weaken current standards - a key not only to protecting individual rights in practice but also to preventing traffickers in human beings and perpetrators of terrorist acts from escaping with impunity; · EU legislation should be introduced to protect vulnerable victims of crime, in particular victims of gender-based crime; · Discrimination against Roma within the EU must be addressed as a matter of priority; · The "Tampere" commitments, including the "full and inclusive application of the Geneva Convention", need to be reinvigorated to guide the further development of a Common European Asylum System; · An independent European refugee documentation centre should be established to ensure availability of common European country reports; · The Presidency should promote an adequate return policy, ensuring full observance of the non-refoulement principle and other relevant international standards. Abroad: · Consideration should be given to the appointment of an EU Special Representative for Human Rights to strengthen the capacity to implement EU human rights policies; · A decision by the European Council to start accession negotiations with Turkey should be based on a thorough analysis of concrete improvements and shortcomings in human rights, in practice; · The agenda for the EU-Russia summit in The Hague in November must include rigorous scrutiny of Russia's conduct in Chechnya; · The Presidency should rally EU support for the early deployment of international human rights monitors to Iraq and demand that the United States and the United Kingdom conduct thorough, independent and public investigations of torture and ill-treatment by coalition forces in Iraqi prisons; · Pressure should be exerted on the government of Sudan to allow the deployment of human rights monitors in Darfur; · EU member states, including the Netherlands, must manifest their commitment to combat torture by signing and ratifying the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture; · The EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports should be significantly strengthened and the Presidency is urged to support work towards a global arms trade treaty; · The Dutch Presidency should clearly stipulate which concrete improvements are required in the human rights conduct of the Chinese government for the EU to consider lifting the arms embargo against China. For Amnesty International's recommendations, see: "Closing the gap between rhetoric and practice: Amnesty International's recommendations to the Dutch EU Presidency" available on http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maacoINaa70DNbeuxZvb/ from 10.00 on Tuesday 29 June, 2004. For further comment/background and interviews: Amnesty International EU Office (Brussels): Tel: 32-2-5021499 Fax: 32-2-5025686 Email: amnesty-eu@aieu.be Web-site: http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maacoINaa70DNbeuxZvb/ |