Chechen human rights defenders censure UN Commission for rejecting Chechen resolutionRuslan Isayev, North Caucasus - Chechen human rights defenders condemned the UN Commission on Human Rights for their decision to reject an EU-sponsored resolution on Chechnya.
"The fact that most of the countries that voted against this resolution are those whose human rights are systematically violated shows that the decision had nothing to do with the actual state of affairs in Chechnya," stated Ruslan Badalov, head of the Chechen National Salvation Committee.
"By reaching this decision the international community essentially denied that the Chechnya problem exists, thereby postponing an end to the war," he added.
"In Chechnya, human rights are being violated through very sophisticated methods; and we’ve collected a lot of evidence to prove it," declared Imran Ezhiyev, acting head of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society.
"How many civilians must end up as victims before the UN will admit that violations exist? In my opinion, the international organization purposely turns a blind eye to this, thus giving the war supporters a free hand," he added.
On Wednesday the Geneva-based UN Commission rejected the resolution by a vote of 23 against, with 12 in favor and 18 abstentions.
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Background information:
(source: The UN Commission on Human Rights)
The resolution, among other things, would have welcomed the efforts by the Government of the Russian Federation to ensure normal conditions of life for the civilian population, as well as the recent trials and subsequent convictions of military personnel who were serving in Chechnya for crimes against civilians; would have strongly condemned all terrorist attacks in Chechnya and elsewhere in the Russian Federation; and would have strongly condemned what it said were ongoing serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in Chechnya, including forced disappearances, extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, torture, ill-treatment, arbitrary detentions, and abductions.
The vote was as follows:
In favour (12): Australia, Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States.
Against (23): Armenia, Brazil, China, Congo, Cuba, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Nigeria, Russian Federation, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Togo, Uganda, Ukraine and Zimbabwe.
Abstentions (18): Argentina, Bahrain, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mauritania, Mexico, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Qatar, Republic of Korea and Saudi Arabia.
(T/E) RELATED ARTICLES:
· UN Commission on Human Rights - information about voting
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