[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 206 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 206

Expressing grave concern regarding armed conflict in the North Caucasus 
    region of the Russian Federation which has resulted in civilian 
 casualties and internally displaced persons, and urging all sides to 
         pursue dialog for peaceful resolution of the conflict.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 25, 1999

    Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Wolf, and Mr. Forbes) 
 submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
                the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing grave concern regarding armed conflict in the North Caucasus 
    region of the Russian Federation which has resulted in civilian 
 casualties and internally displaced persons, and urging all sides to 
         pursue dialog for peaceful resolution of the conflict.

Whereas during the Russo-Chechen War of 1994-1996, Russian Federation military 
        forces used massive force against civilians in Chechnya, causing immense 
        human casualties, gross human rights violations, large-scale 
        displacement of individuals, and destruction of property;
Whereas Chechnya has been the site of internal lawlessness and numerous 
        kidnapings, including that of United States citizen Fred Cuny, whose 
        exact fate is still unknown;
Whereas in recent months, extremist forces based in Chechnya have mounted armed 
        incursions into the adjacent Russian Federation Republic of Dagestan;
Whereas the United States recognizes the territorial integrity of the Russian 
        Federation;
Whereas Russian Federation armed forces have conducted armed attacks against 
        Chechnya and positioned forces with the stated intention of sealing 
        Chechnya's borders and creating a security zone in the region;
Whereas such attacks, including indiscriminate bombing and strafing of civilians 
        in Chechnya, have given rise to over 100,000 internally displaced 
        persons, most of whom have escaped into neighboring regions of Russia;
Whereas such indiscriminate attacks are a violation of paragraph 19 of the Code 
        of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security, approved at the 
        1994 Summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, 
        held in Budapest, Hungary, which states that in the event of armed 
        conflict, participating States ``will seek to create conditions 
        favorable to the political solution of the conflict. They will cooperate 
        in support of humanitarian assistance to alleviate suffering among the 
        civilian population, including facilitating the movement of personnel 
        and resources to such tasks'', and paragraph 36, which states, ``If 
        recourse to force cannot be avoided in performing internal security 
        missions, each participating State will ensure that its use must be 
        commensurate with the needs for enforcement. The armed forces will take 
        due care to avoid injury to civilians or their property.'';
Whereas the conflict in the North Caucasus may threaten democratic development, 
        the rule of law, and respect for human rights throughout Russia;
Whereas almost 300 persons have died as a result of unsolved terrorist bombings 
        in Russia that coincided with the armed incursions into Dagestan;
Whereas authorities in Moscow and other cities of the Russian Federation have 
        used terrorist bombings as a pretext to intensify a campaign against 
        individuals from the North Caucasus region, including the detention and 
        forcible expulsion of such individuals from these cities; and
Whereas in response to Russian attacks the elected Government of Chechnya has 
        declared its solidarity with renegade Chechen forces in opposing Russian 
        attacks: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) urges the Government of the Russian Federation to cease 
        the indiscriminate use of force against the civilian population 
        in Chechnya, in accordance with commitments of the Organization 
        for Security and Cooperation in Europe;
            (2) urges the Government of the Russian Federation to enter 
        into negotiations on the North Caucasus conflict with 
        legitimate political representatives of the region, including 
        President Maskhadov and his Government, and to avail itself of 
        the conflict prevention and crisis management capabilities of 
        the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which 
        helped broker an end to the 1994-1996 War;
            (3) urges the Government of Chechnya to use every 
        appropriate means to deny extremist forces located in its 
        territory a base of operations for the mounting of armed 
        incursions that threaten peace and stability in the North 
        Caucasus region;
            (4) cautions that forcible resettlement of internally 
        displaced persons would evoke outrage from the international 
        community;
            (5) urges that the Government of the Russian Federation 
        seek and accept international humanitarian assistance to 
        alleviate the suffering of the internally displaced persons 
        from Chechnya, so as to reduce the risk of civilian casualties; 
        and
            (6) calls on the Government of the United States to express 
        to all parties the necessity of resolving the conflict 
        peacefully, with full respect to the human rights of all the 
        citizens of the Russian Federation, and to support the 
        provision of appropriate international humanitarian assistance.
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