Human Rights Watch/Helsinki respectfully urges the government and parliament of the Russian Federation:
C To comply with the human rights obligations required of Council of Europe member states in accordance with the timetable set out by the Council of Europe. As an urgent priority, we urge the Russian Government and the parliament to:
C institute immediately a legally binding moratorium on the death penalty and launch a high-profile public information campaign to insure that all prison authorities and prisoners are aware of and honor its enactment;
C ratify the European Convention on Human Rights and its Protocols, the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and comply with their provisions;
C repeal the remaining capital punishment provisions from the criminal code of the Russian Federation; and
C fulfill its obligation detailed in the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly Opinion No. 193 (1996), point 7 (vii): "those found responsible for human rights violations will be brought to justice-notably in relation to events in Chechnya" by reinvigorating the process of investigating and prosecuting, in full compliance with international law, those responsible for gross violations of international humanitarian law, especially indiscriminate shelling, targeting civilians, torture, and using civilians as human shields.
We also respectfully urge the Russian Federation to:
C cooperate fully with the Chechnya Procuracy in order to investigate and prosecute the 342 cases of crimes allegedly committed throughout the war by Russian soldiers compiled by the Chechnya Procuracy, as documented by Human Rights Watch/Helsinki, and include the Chechnya Procuracy in the investigation of these and other cases;
C cooperate with family members and local authorities who are seeking to locate Chechens held in custody for their alleged participation in rebel activities by, among other things, indicating on lists of Chechens in custody the exact dates of arrest, charges against them, and convictions;
C immediately cease torture and other forms of mistreatment of individuals in places of detention, and ensure that the Procuracy General rigorously prosecute and punish those responsible for these crimes, in conformity with international standards;
C immediately repeal all legislative acts that violate freedom of movement in conformity with international standards and investigate reports of such violations;
C revise any legislative acts that discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, national identity, or gender, and enforce protections against discrimination in all forms rigorously; and
C make public a detailed, country-wide report of those law enforcement officials who have been disciplined or held criminally accountable for due process violations and physical abuse of detainees. Such a report should include information about the kind of violation the law officer was found guilty of, the sanctions imposed, and the damage suffered by the victim and whether and how the victim was compensated for damages.
Human Rights Watch/Helsinki respectfully urges the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly to:
C ensure that the Russian government fulfils all other obligations to the Council of Europe promptly, or immediately institute punitive proceedings in accordance with its Statute and Parliamentary Assembly resolutions.
C As a means of deterring non-compliance with Council of Europe human rights obligations, we urge it to develop and adopt as soon as possible uniform mechanisms for imposing sanctions on the violator nation immediately, rather than at the beginning of each part-session;
C reprimand the Russian government for failing to honor the timetable set forth for ratification of certain human rights instruments by February 28, 1997, and ensure that it honors these obligations as soon as possible;
C ensure that the Russian parliament repeal all remaining capital punishment provisions in its criminal code on a priority basis, and in the meantime cease immediately handing down death penalty sentences.
C Immediately upon ratification of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Committee to Prevent Torture (CPT) should, as a matter of priority, send a delegation to conduct a comprehensive investigation into conditions in prisons, pre-trial detention facilities and police lock-ups in the Russian Federation, and, should the Russian government fail to comply with recommendations submitted upon conclusion of the investigation, the CPT should, in accordance with its mandate, release a public report on its findings and recommendations for remedying problems there, and work with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the government of the Russian Federation to implement these recommendations as soon as possible.
The Council of Europe should, further:
C request its ad hoc committee on Chechnya to conduct an investigation into acts of state-sponsored racist violence in Chechnya and, to the degree they existed, in other parts of the Russian Federation that could be perceived as an extension or result of the armed conflict, and report back publicly with its findings and recommendations; and
C set feasible deadlines for legal changes to be adopted by member states and, if those deadlines are not met, institute immediate punitive measures.