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Chechnya: Renewed Catastrophe
EU - Russia Summit: Time to Act on Chechnya
The European Union must turn rhetoric into action on Russia's human rights abuses in Chechnya at the October 30 E.U.-Russia Summit in Paris . The E.U. risks losing its credibility as a leading force for international justice if it continues its policy of inaction—refusing to follow through on its earlier condemnations of the atrocities in Chechnya while courting President Putin through the highest diplomatic channels.

The E.U. and its member states have a record as proponents of international humanitarian law, most recently seen in their strong support for the creation of an International Criminal Court. This commitment has also been evident during the Balkan conflicts, when the E.U. and its member states deployed national, E.U., and OSCE monitors to document and report on the atrocities, and also supported the creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to bring those responsible to justice. By contrast in Chechnya, the E.U. and its member states have taken no meaningful steps to ensure accountability.

The E.U. and Russia

Although the E.U., its Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament have issued condemnations of the abuses in Chechnya, neither the E.U. nor its member states has taken action to support such rhetoric.

At the April 2000 U.N. Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR), the E.U. sponsored a resolution calling for an independent commission of inquiry into the Chechnya abuses. More than six months later, Russia has not created a commission that meets the standards set by the UNCHR for an independent commission of inquiry. Human Rights Watch has detailed Russia's failure to comply with the U.N. resolution in its Memorandum on Accountability for Humanitarian Law Violations in Chechnya.

The E.U. has failed to use that resolution and other mechanisms to enforce accountability. The E.U. did not suspend its Partnership and Cooperation Agreement or its support for international lending to Russia. Rather, in a series of high-profile bilateral summits, E.U. leaders have given the new Russian President Vladimir Putin their unreserved blessing.

The European Court of Human Rights

In April 2000, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly recommended that Council of Europe member states file an interstate complaint against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights, alleging that the conduct of Russian forces in Chechnya violates the European Convention on Human Rights. No complaint has been filed, and in fact E.U. member and associated countries have been dissuaded from taking action by fear of worsening relations with Russia. Festivities celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights scheduled for November 3-4 in Rome will likely be marred by the continued refusal of E.U. and other Council of Europe member states to take Russia to task for its blatant violations of the Convention.