Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-03-13-Speech-3-239"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20020313.11.3-239"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Mr President, the situation in Chechnya is still very worrying for the European Union. Recent reports by the OSCE Assistance Group in Chechnya, by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and by two NGOs (Memorial and
) demonstrate that the situation in this part of Russia is still dramatic.
The Union has periodically dealt with the problem of security with the Russian authorities and recently a Commission official travelled to Chechnya to assess the current situation on the ground and the Union’s troika is planning another visit to the region on a Head of Mission level.
Finally, in relation to the prosecution of those people who have violated human rights, the European Union would point out that the Court of Human Rights in the Hague is now involved in several cases. The Court will set a date in the coming months to study the admissibility of some of these cases. Naturally, the European Union intends to follow these events closely.
On the basis of this and other reports, the European Union has raised the issue with the Russian authorities in all the political dialogue that has taken place recently and will continue to do so. This is no surprise, since the European Union has repeatedly spoken out clearly against any violation of human rights and on the situation of the refugees and internally displaced people in Chechnya.
Consequently, the Union has adopted a coherent position in principle which makes it very clear to Russia that, while the upheaval in Chechnya continues, the Union will continue to apply firm pressure for a change to come about, taking every possible opportunity and also turning to the relevant international organisations. However, I believe that it would be misleading to say that nothing has happened throughout the whole of last year. The question refers to Resolution 1270 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe which says that, while it has been frustratingly slow, some progress has been made thanks to positive changes of attitude now visible within the Russian Federation in relation to dealing with the conflict.
As an example of this change, we have heard statements from President Putin to the effect that members of the Russian armed forces who do not respect human rights will be tried and punished. The Union is pleased with this statement and hopes that the Russian authorities will fulfil their commitment and prevent any further violation of human rights.
It has always been understood that the fight against terrorism and extremism should take place within the framework of the Rule of Law and with full respect for human rights. The indiscriminate use of force will only serve to fan the flames of conflict for many years to come. At the same time, it is clearly necessary to maintain stability in the region.
The Council absolutely agrees that only a political solution can resolve the Chechen conflict. It understands that the Russian authorities have tried to reach an agreement with representatives of Maskhadov, but that unfortunately these efforts have not been successful.
The European Union will not miss any opportunity to insist on a political solution and, for its part, the OSCE is still playing a useful role through the presence of its Assistance Group.
The security and independence of journalists are issues of great concern to the European Union, which has recently reiterated its views on the situation of the media in Russia.
The Union has also been very active in terms of achieving the presence of international humanitarian organisations in Chechnya and, by means of ECHO (the European Community Humanitarian Office), it has directly participated in humanitarian aid as one of the principal donors since the start of the Chechen conflict."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples