Yesterday, on June 22, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly discussed the report on human rights observance in the North Cuacasus prepared specially for the summer session by Swiss senator Dick Marty.
Photo: senator Dick Marty.
Mr. Marty visited the North Caucasus several months ago. During his visit he gathered information about the human rights situation and conditions for human rights defenders in that territory. A lot of information was provided to Mr. Marty by the Joint Mobile Group working in the Chechen Republic since November last year. Following the trip the senator prepared a detailed report which in the opinion of human rights defenders entirely covers the current state of affairs in the region and the development prospective. It should be noted that in his report Mr. Marty appreciated the activity of the JMG saying that “the work of these “mobile units” was admirable to oblige the investigators to carry out their duty”.
The major human rights problem in the North Caucasus has been and still is the ineffective investigation of torture cases along with extrajudicial killings and abductions, which actually caused the establishment of the Joint Mobile Group. The experience of the ICAT shows that instances of cruel treatment are not investigated in Chechnya for the lack of political will on the regional level. This situation requires drastic change.
Photo: press-conference of human-rights defenders in Strasbourg.
In a resolution unanimously approved today based on Dick Marty’s report the Assembly invited the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to pay utmost attention to the development of the human rights situation in the North Caucasus and assign itself the monitoring of the Russian Federation’s commitments. Besides, the resolution called on the Russian authorities to investigate all torture claims and bring to trial in accordance with the law all culprits of human rights violations, including members of the security forces. The PACE urged Russia to intensify co-operation with the Council of Europe in enforcing the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights concerning the situation in the North Caucasus. The resolution also pointed to the need of closer cooperation between the authorities and the organisations working on the ground in defence of human rights and of civil society as a whole.
Press-service
Of the Interregional Committee against Torture
PACE recommendations (English)
Soon these documents will be available in Russian on our web-site.