As European ministers convened in Rome to celebrate the fiftieth
anniversary of the European Convention of Human Rights, Human Rights Watch urged them to apply
the convention to Chechnya.
In an open letter sent to foreign ministers of forty-one Council of Europe states, the rights group cautioned that the convention risks being undermined by Russia's blatant violations.
Russia became a party to the European convention after joining the Council of Europe in 1996. Victims of abuses committed by Russian forces in Chechnya have begun filing lawsuits against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights, which enforces the convention. Human Rights Watch said that the massive violations in Chechnya warrant an "interstate" lawsuit against Russia by other Council of Europe countries.
"The European convention is the bedrock on which the European human rights protection system is built," said Rachel Denber, acting executive director of Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia division. "But that foundation will be shaken if powerful states like Russia are held to a different standard."
Since the conflict in Chechnya broke out last fall, Human Rights Watch has monitored the conduct of Russian security forces and rebel fighters. Reports detailing Human Rights Watch findings and the response of the Russian government and the international community can be found on the Human Rights Watch Chechnya focus page.
