Vol. 516 No. 5
5 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps, if any, he has taken, particularly as chairman-in-office of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, to bring a peaceful resolution of the war in Chechnya. [8402/00]
As chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Ireland has been following closely developments in relation to Chechnya. This issue has been the highest priority of the Irish chairmanship of the Council of Europe since we took over the office in November last. It has been actively discussed at every meeting of the Committee of Ministers since then.
The Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner, Mr. Gil-Robles, made a number of visits to Moscow and the region. The Secretary General of the Council, Mr. Schwimmer, invoked Article 52 of the European Convention on Human Rights and requested detailed information from Russia on Chechnya. The former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Andrews, visited Moscow in January this year to press Russia to take action to end the conflict.
At the Council of Europe Human Rights Conference in Dublin, organised by the Irish chairmanship, on 3 and 4 March, the Minister, Deputy Cowen, stressed the Government's profound concern at the mounting reports of serious human rights abuses in Chechnya. He strongly urged Russia to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into reports of civilian killings and human rights abuses and to bring those responsible to justice. There was a high level Russian presence at the conference and the Minister met with Russian Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Gusarov, to ensure that the Government's concerns would be conveyed clearly and emphatically to the Russian authorities. At the conference the Minister also had detailed discussions with both the Secretary General of the Council and the Human Rights Commissioner on the role which the Council can play to restore the rule of law and respect for human rights and democracy in Chechnya.
A Council of Europe parliamentary delegation led by Lord Judd recently visited the region. It is clear from its preliminary report that the delegation considers serious human rights violations to have taken place in Chechnya on both sides. The delegation will report to the Parliamentary Assembly on its findings and the assembly will debate the issue at its next part-session in Strasbourg in early April. In the light of this report and the clear indications that the mood of the Parliamentary Assembly is currently hardening towards a recommendation for suspension of the Russian Federation from membership of the Council of Europe, the Minister wrote last week to Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov bringing these indications to his attention and urging on him the need for Russia to respond positively to the concerns which were expressed.
Additional Information
At present, efforts are focused on the proposal which has been made by the Parliamentary Assembly in its Recommendation 1444 for a Council of Europe presence in the North Caucasus. The modalities for this presence have been agreed ad referendum in discussions in Strasbourg with the recently appointed Russian Special Representative for Human Rights in Chechnya, Mr. Kalamanov. In addition, work is proceeding on two Council of Europe conferences to be held in the region. The first, to be held in April will consider federal relations within a democratic state and the second, in May, will work on the building of democratic institutions in Chechnya.
The Chechen conflict has also been to the forefront of the agendas of other international organisations and there has been close co-operation by them with the Council of Europe. A meeting between the Council of Europe and the EU was held in Strasbourg on 14 March and a meeting between the Council of Europe and the OSCE will take place in Vienna on 12 April. The EU has applied a number of measures to Russia because of Chechnya. These include reducing planned activities under the EU Common Strategy on Russia, stricter enforcement of trade agreements and slowing down the EU's aid programme for Russia. The question of additional measures against Russia is being kept under review. The issue of Chechnya will be one of the principal items on the agenda for discussions by Heads of State and Government at the Lisbon European Council on 23 and 24 March.
The OSCE has put monitors on the Chechen border with Georgia and continues to press for the reinstatement of the OSCE assistance mission in Grozny. The United Nations has also been working to promote peace. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan visited Russia for talks with Acting President Putin and the UN Commissioner on Human Rights, Mrs. Mary Robinson, is to visit the region on 1 and 2 April. Mrs. Robinson has indicated that she intends to put the issue of Chechnya on the agenda of this year's session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, which opened in Geneva on 20 March.
At the centre of all our concerns are the innocent civilians who have been caught up in this conflict. Ireland has allocated £310,000 in humanitarian assistance to Chechen internally displaced persons, to augment Ireland's share of the European Union aid package of £7.4 million. We will continue to do everything possible to ensure that fundamental humanitarian assistance is provided effectively to those in need. The conflict in Chechnya must be brought to a peaceful conclusion, the vulnerable population must be given adequate humanitarian assistance, reported human rights abuses must be thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice. The Government is committed to these goals and will continue to work actively in their pursuit both as Chair of the Council of Europe and in other appropriate fora.
The Russian Government is clearly guilty of human rights abuses. The Minister said both sides were guilty but only one side, the Russian state, is a member of the Council of Europe. How would the Minister of State contrast the treatment of Russia by the Council of Europe with the treatment of Austria by the European Union?
The treatment of Austria by the European Union is a separate question which I will leave Austria to answer. The Council of Europe, with Ireland as its chair, has been active in raising the issue of human rights abuses in Chechnya. If significant and substantial progress is not made by Russia on the relevant issues and the Parliamentary Assembly recommends suspension, which is possible, the Committee of Ministers will have to give that its full and careful consideration. It will have to weigh carefully the need to protect and maintain Council of Europe standards against the undesirability of isolating Russia. These political calls will have to be made by the Ministers, with all they imply for the continuation of the reform process in Russia.
The committee will also have to ask itself whether a decision to suspend Russia would help the people at the heart of our concern, that is, the innocent civilians caught up in this conflict, or would they be better served by continuing the efforts to keep Russia engaged with the council. Each member of the Council of Europe, including Ireland, will have to weigh these issues carefully. As chairman of the committee, Ireland must to ensure there is a clear and considered debate on this important question.
I do not wish to pre-empt the next question on Austria but would the Minister agree that the international community, led by larger states, has set a woeful precedent in the way it has treated Austria on the one hand and a large state like Russia on the other? Is that not a woeful precedent for the treatment of smaller member states at the behest of larger states to suit their internal interests? Why was action not taken against Russia long before now?
I have outlined the steps taken by the Council of Europe in relation to Chechnya. There have been active and considered attempts to highlight and take issue with the Russian authorities about the human rights abuses in that war. How the European Union would deal with another member state as compared with how it would deal with a country which is not a member of the EU is a different question. They are different political contexts and they require different responses. It is illogical to expect the European Union to deal with Russian foreign affairs in a similar way to how it would deal with another member of the European Union or to expect that there would be similar criteria.
