RECOMMENDATIONS

To the Government of the Russian Federation

Human Rights Watch documented the endemic nature of torture in the criminal justice system in Russia in a 1999 report, Confessions at any Cost: Police Torture in Russia, (New York: November, 1999). The report makes detailed recommendations to the Russian authorities on approaches to end the practice of torture in police custody and prisons. Human Rights Watch again calls on the Russian government to implement those recommendations as a matter of priority. 

End the Practice of Torture

• •Direct all Russian Federation forces--including Ministry of Defense troops, OMON, and other Ministry of Interior troops as well as all staff working at detention centers--to cease violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including torture, beatings, physical abuse, rape, and other forms of cruel and inhuman treatment at detention facilities and during the arrest process; instruct those forces that perpetrators of such violations will bear criminal responsibility; and investigate all allegations of torture, and initiate appropriate disciplinary and criminal measures;

• •Inform all detainees immediately of the grounds of arrest and any charges against them. Provide all detainees with immediate and regular access to attorneys, and allow detainees to petition for review of their detention without delay. Accord procedural rights to all persons detained and/or accused of crimes; inform the families of detained persons of their detention, the reason for and location of the detention. Allow families of detained persons regular contact with detainees; 

• •Review all confessions to ensure that they were not extracted under torture, drop all pending charges based on confessions extracted under torture, and refrain from bringing charges based on confessions extracted under torture. Enforce the inadmissibility of statements extracted by force in all legal proceedings, other than those brought for redress of abuse; and

• •Direct all Russian Federation forces to immediately end the current practice of extortion, which forces relatives of detained persons to pay money to Russian officials to obtain their release. Conduct a full investigation into the widespread practices of extortion, and prosecute all officials found to have engaged or tolerated extortion in conditioning the release of detainees. 

• •Investigate fully allegations of abuse and improper treatment of those in detention, fully prosecute all officials found to have used or tolerated the use of excessive force; and grant compensation to victims;

• •Investigate the deaths of detainees at the Chernokozovo detention facility, the Internat facility at Urus-Martan, and the Khankala military base, in accordance with the standards set forth in the United Nations Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions. The government must prosecute to the fullest extent of the law all officials found to have used or tolerated the use of excessive force; and grant compensation to relatives of the victims;

• •Make publicly available all reports from investigations conducted into human rights violations in Chechnya, in particular the investigation into torture and ill-treatment in Chernokozovo required by the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT); the outcome of which was due by June 2000; 

• •Make publicly available regularly updated figures on the number of individuals charged and arrested for security-related crimes in Chechnya, with information on the nature of their alleged crimes and the places of their detention. Registers of the names and places of detention should be readily available; and

• •Provide resources for the physical and psychological rehabilitation of torture victims, supporting nongovernmental initiatives. Recognize the extreme cultural stigma attached to acts of sexual violence in Chechen culture and support programs for rehabilitation which will not make those who seek rehabilitation vulnerable to further societal consequences.

• •Provide unrestricted access to detainees and detention facilities by representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as well as the Assistance Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and representatives of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights;

• •Facilitate prompt visits by the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women; the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions; the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture; the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Internally Displaced Persons;

• •Cease delaying the deployment of the Assistance Group of the OSCE to Ingushetia and Chechnya; and

• •Agree to the immediate deployment in Ingushetia and Chechnya of an independent, international commission of inquiry with a mandate to investigate violations of international humanitarian law by both sides in the conflict, and the ability to recommend prosecutions in appropriate cases.

• •Investigate allegations of torture, abuse in detention, arbitrary arrest, extortion, and summary executions in detention facilities. Attempt to establish the identity of the parties responsible for abuses, and recommend their prosecution where appropriate. Ensure that adequate mechanisms are instituted to protect the safety of victims and witnesses;

• •Monitor all places of detention, particularly in temporary holding facilities operated by the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense, in and around Chechnya for compliance with international standards. Ensure that detainees have the opportunity to be interviewed in private and in confidence about their treatment; 

• •Through regular field visits, ensure that victims have access to the staff of the Special Representative throughout Chechnya as well as in settlements of displaced people outside the Republic. In particular, ensure that persons who have had their identity documents confiscated and thus cannot travel have access to the staff of the Special Representative;

• •Visit areas of recent "mop-up" operations to ensure that the conduct of Russian troops is in accordance with international standards;

• •Publish regular, public reports on the findings and activities of the Special Representative, as well as on the actions taken by the relevant authorities in response to those findings; and

• •Seek from the Russian government its report on violations in Chernokozovo from December 1999 to February 2000, as requested by the CPT, and recommend to President Putin that the report be made public.

Representatives of various international organizations and governments, including the United Nations, the European Union, and the United States have repeatedly exhorted the Russian government to investigate abuses committed in Chechnya and to hold those responsible accountable. Although the Russian government had not undertaken a credible investigation, on April 25, 2000, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights failed to call for the creation of an international inquiry into the abuses, instead calling once again on the Russian government to conduct an investigation. The Russian government continues to make no meaningful progress on accountability for abuses in Chechnya. Accordingly, Human Rights Watch once again calls on representatives of the international community to:

• •Establish an international commission of inquiry to observe, investigate, and report upon human rights and humanitarian aspects of the military operation in Chechnya, and that have the ability to recommend prosecutions in appropriate cases. The commission would also provide assistance to Russian authorities in the carrying out of investigations; and

• •Communicate with Chechen, Russian and international nongovernmental organizations involved in the treatment of, and advocacy for, torture victims in Russia, and support the U.N. Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture.

United Nations

On April 25, 2000, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution expressing its concern about allegations of abuse in Chechnya, "notably in the alleged 'camps of filtration,'" and requesting the relevant rapporteurs and working groups of the commission to undertake missions to the region, and urged the Russian government to facilitate such missions. At the time of writing, none of those mechanisms had received permission of the Russian government to visit the region.

• •The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, should continue her commitment to working on Chechnya. A deadline should be set for her return visit to the region, to which the Russian government has committed itself. The visit, which should be carried out as soon as possible, should include visits to some of the detention centers documented in this report where abuses are believed to be continuing to date;

• •The High Commissioner for Human Rights should continue to engage the Russian government on its implementation of the April 25 resolution; and

• •The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, and the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women should vigorously pursue the visits mandated by the April 25 resolution and investigate allegations of abuses relevant to their mandate. The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention should also join this initiative.

The Council of Europe's engagement in Chechnya peaked in April, when out of concern for Russia's lack of respect for human rights the organization's Parliamentary Assembly suspended Russia's voting rights and requested the Committee of Ministers review Russia's continued membership. The Council of Ministers did not do so, however, and the organization's stance subsequently became much less critical. It justified this by citing "improvements" in the situation, and describing the much-delayed deployment of international Council of Europe expert staff to the office of Special Representative Vladimir Kalamanov as indicative of Russia's good faith to address human rights violations. Council of Europe member states refer to this office, and its collaboration with Council of Europe staff, as a substitute for other mechanisms that might lead to accountability for abuse, in particular, an inter-state complaint. Similarly, UNHRC member states pointed to this arrangement as substituting the need for an international commission of inquiry. For this reason, Human Rights Watch believes the work of this office should be closely scrutinzed and completely transparent.

Generally, the Council of Europe has not employed all the tools available to it to ensure that Russia adheres to the human rights standards membership in the organization requires. In particular the relevant bodies and/or member states of the Council of Europe should: 

• •File interstate complaints against the Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights, as recommended by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, to hold Russia to account for violations, including torture, committed in detention centers in and around Chechnya, as well as other incidents of gross violations of international humanitarian law such as the civilian killings in Alkhan-Yurt and the Staropromyslovski and Aldi districts of Grozny; 

• •Ensure that Russia complies fully with the mandatory "thorough and independent" investigation into allegations of ill-treatment from December 1999 to mid-February 2000 in Chernokozovo that was requested by theCouncil of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) in March 2000, whereby Russia was required to "inform the CPT of its outcome within three months." The Council of Europe should continue to encourage Russia to make public the reports of the CPT to the Russian government and the Russian government to the CPT on detention conditions in the North Caucasus, including its report into the abuses at Chernokozovo;

• •Insist on the independence of Council of Europe staff provided to the office of the Presidential Representative on Human Rights in Chechnya, including their freedom of movement and their right of unfettered communication with the Council of Europe Secretariat. Ensure that their role within the office, as anticipated by Secretary-General of the Council of Europe Walter Schimmer immediately preceding their deployment, continues to be "an important step to restore the human rights situation in the region back to normalcy and bring those responsible for human rights violations to justice;" and 

• •As envisioned by its 1994 Declaration, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe should set in motion a special investigation into Russia's compliance with its Council of Europe commitments. It should take into account the reports of the Secretary-General and experts which concluded that Russia has already failed to live up to its obligations to respond to the Secretary General under the Article 52 procedure. 

On April 11, 1995, the OSCE established the Assistance Group to Chechnya. Its mandate, explicitly reaffirmed by all OSCE member states, including Russia, at the November 1999 Istanbul Summit, provides that it will, among other things, "promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms," and "facilitate the delivery to the region by international and nongovernmental organizations of humanitarian aid for victims of the crisis, wherever they may be located." The Assistance Group enjoys "all possible freedom of movement on the territory of the Chechen Republic and also on the territory of neighboring subjects of the Russian Federation, if so required for the performance of its tasks." The OSCE Assistance Group left the region when hostilities broke out in September 1999; as of this writing, the Russian government has actively impeded the group's redepoyment.

• •As is foreseen under the existing Assistance Group mandate, the OSCE should immediately deploy an expanded Assistance Group delegation to Chechnya and Ingushetia: to gather evidence of violations of human rights and humanitarian law committed in Chechnya; to report publicly on any such abuses and make recommendations to the Russian government to curb abuses and hold those responsible accountable; and to monitor the treatment of displaced persons and advise the Russian authorities and international agencies with respect to needed humanitarian assistance;

• •In accordance with the 1994 Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security, articles 30 and 31, the OSCE must insist on Russia's obligations to investigate abuses committed by Russian Federation troops in Chechnya and prosecute those found responsible. The OSCE should insist that Russia keeps the Chair-in-Office and the OSCE Permanent Council informed on progress in this regard; and

• •The OSCE Assistance Group should cooperate with any investigation undertaken by the Russian government, but any monitoring or other activities by the Assistance Group should remain independent and distinct from the activities of Russian government institutions.

• •Immediately suspend payment of all pending loan installments payable to the Russian Federation for unrestricted general budgetary spending, including pending World Bank payments under its structural adjustment loans. Signal that such payments will not resume until the Russian Federation takes meaningful steps to limit the civilian toll imposed by its military operation in Chechnya. Such steps should include serious, transparent, and impartial investigations of abuses committed and accountability for those responsible, and acceptance of a sustained international monitoring presence in Chechnya and Ingushetia and full cooperation with its activities; and

• •Refuse to negotiate any new loans or to renegotiate any existing loans until the above steps are taken.

Discussing alleged abuses in Chechnya before the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Portuguese Foreign Minister, Jaime Gama, speaking on behalf of the European Union, stated that a "serious and independent investigation must be carried out without delay in order that those responsible can be brought to account." Addressing the same forum, U.S. Secretary of State Albright called for "prompt and transparent investigation of all credible charges." To date, the Russian government has failed to undertake a serious investigation of abuses in Chechnya. It is therefore necessary for the E.U. and the U.S. to press forward for a two-track process of accountability involving both national and international inquiries. Specifically, the E.U. and the U.S. should:

• •In bilateral and multinational public and private communications with the Russian government, emphasize that abuses committed by Russian government forces in Chechnya, such as torture, summary executions, rape, pillage, and the deliberate destruction of civilian property, amount to war crimes and serious violations of international law;

• •Continue to press the Russian Federation to undertake a thorough, transparent investigation of abuses committed in Chechnya and to hold accountable those responsible, warning that accountability is a nonnegotiable minimum condition for enhanced political, economic, and security relationships with the Russian Federation; and

• •Oppose payment of any pending loan installments payable to the Russian Federation for unrestricted general budgetary spending, including pending World Bank payments under its structural adjustment loans. Assert the position that such payments should not resume until the Russian Federation takes meaningful steps to limit the civilian toll imposed by its military operation in Chechnya and hold those responsible for abuses accountable. Such steps should include serious, transparent, and impartial investigations of abuses committed and accountability for those responsible, acceptance of an international monitoring presence in Ingushetia and Chechnya and full cooperation with its activities, and meaningful steps to curb looting and the destruction of civilian property in Chechnya.