Update Note on Chechnya

The Commission's April 20 resolution on Chechnya rejected the notion, now espoused by some, that fighting terrorism could ever justify sacrificing human rights protections. Resolution 2001/24 condemned terrorist attacks related to the Chechnya conflict and breaches of humanitarian law perpetrated by Chechen forces, as well as certain methods often used by Russian federal forces in Chechnya. In calling for a national commission of inquiry into Russian abuses and for the deployment of thematic mandates, the Commission emphasized the need for transparency; by calling on the Russian government to undertake systematic, credible, and exhaustive criminal investigations into abuses, it embraced the rule of law.