[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 269 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 269

   Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to United States 
 relations with the Russian Federation, given the Russian Federation's 
              conduct in Chechnya, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 9, 2000

Mr. Helms submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to United States 
 relations with the Russian Federation, given the Russian Federation's 
              conduct in Chechnya, and for other purposes.

Whereas the Senate of the United States unanimously passed Senate Resolution 262 
        on February 24th, 2000, to condemn the indiscriminate use of force by 
        the Government of the Russian Federation against the people of Chechnya, 
        to prompt peace negotiations between the Government of the Russian 
        Federation and the Government of Chechnya led by elected President Aslan 
        Maskhadov, and to prompt the Government of the Russian Federation to 
        immediately grant international organizations full and unimpeded access 
        in Chechnya and the surrounding regions so that they can provide much 
        needed humanitarian assistance and investigate alleged atrocities and 
        war crimes;
Whereas the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate received credible 
        evidence and testimony reporting that Russian forces in Chechnya caused 
        the deaths of countless thousands of innocent civilians; caused the 
        displacement of well over 250,000 innocents; forcibly relocated refugee 
        populations; and have committed widespread atrocities, including summary 
        executions, torture, and rape;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has repeatedly violated the 
        principles of the freedom of the press by subjecting journalists, such 
        as Radio Free Liberty/Radio Europe correspondent Andrei Babitsky, who 
        oppose or question its policies to censorship, intimidation, harassment, 
        incarceration, and violence;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation continues its military campaign 
        in Chechnya, including the use of indiscriminate force, causing further 
        dislocation of people from their homes, the deaths of noncombatants and 
        widespread suffering;
Whereas this war contributes to ethnic hatred and religious intolerance within 
        the Russian Federation, jeopardizes prospects for the establishment of 
        democracy in the Russian Federation, undercuts the ability of the 
        international community to trust the Russian Federation as a signatory 
        to international agreements, generates political instability within the 
        Russian Federation, and is a threat to the peace in the region; and
Whereas the Senate expresses its concern over the war and humanitarian tragedy 
        in Chechnya, and its desire for a peaceful and durable settlement to the 
        conflict: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) the indifference of most Western governments, including 
        that of the United States, toward this conflict has encouraged 
        the Government of the Russian Federation to intensify and 
        expand its military campaign in Chechnya, further contributing 
        to the suffering of the Chechen people;
            (2) the Acting President of the Russian Federation, 
        Vladimir Putin, is directly responsible for the conduct of 
        Russian troops in and around Chechnya and accountable for war 
        crimes and atrocities committed by them against the Chechen 
        people;
            (3) the Acting President of the Russian Federation should--
                    (A) immediately cease the military operations in 
                Chechnya and initiate negotiations toward a just peace 
                with the leadership of the Chechen government, 
                including President Aslan Maskhadov;
                    (B) grant international missions immediate full and 
                unimpeded access into Chechnya and surrounding regions 
                so that they can monitor and report on the situation 
                there and investigate alleged atrocities and war 
                crimes;
                    (C) allow international humanitarian agencies 
                immediate full and unimpeded access to Chechen 
                civilians, including those in refugee, detention and 
                so-called ``filtration camps'' or any other facility 
                where citizens of Chechnya are detained; and
                    (D) investigate fully the atrocities committed in 
                Chechnya, including those alleged in Alkhan-Yurt and 
                Grozny, and initiate prosecutions against officers and 
                soldiers accused of those atrocities;
            (4) the President of the United States should--
                    (A) affirm respect for human rights, democratic 
                rule of law, and international accountability as a 
                foundation of United States foreign policy;
                    (B) affirm respect for human rights, democratic 
                rule of law, and international accountability as a 
                precondition to United States-Russian cooperation;
                    (C) reevaluate United States foreign policy toward 
                the Russian Federation given its conduct in Chechnya, 
                remilitarization, and questionable commitment to 
                democracy;
                    (D) support societal forces in the Russian 
                Federation fighting to preserve democracy there, 
                including empowering human rights activists and 
                promoting programs designed to strengthen the 
                independent media, trade unions, political parties, 
                civil society, and the democratic rule of law;
                    (E) promote peace negotiations between the 
                Government of the Russian Federation and the leadership 
                of the Chechen government, including President Aslan 
                Maskhadov, through third-party mediation by the 
                Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 
                (OSCE), the United Nations, or other appropriate 
                parties;
                    (F) endorse the call of the United Nations High 
                Commissioner for Human Rights for an investigation of 
                alleged war crimes committed by the Russian military in 
                Chechnya; and
                    (G) take tangible steps to demonstrate to the 
                Government of the Russian Federation that the United 
                States strongly condemns its conduct in Chechnya and 
                its unwillingness to find a just political solution to 
                the conflict in Chechnya, including--
                            (i) a refusal to participate in bilateral 
                        summit meetings with the Government of the 
                        Russian Federation;
                            (ii) a call for the suspension of the 
                        Russian Federation from the forum of G-7 plus 1 
                        state; and
                            (iii) a suspension of financial assistance 
                        to the Russian Federation provided through the 
                        International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, 
                        the Export-Import Bank of the United States, 
                        and the Overseas Private Investment 
                        Corporation; and
            (5) the President of the United States should not reverse 
        the actions taken under paragraph (4)(G) until the Government 
        of the Russian Federation has--
                    (A) ceased its military operations in Chechnya and 
                initiated negotiations toward a just peace with the 
                leadership of the Chechen government led by President 
                Aslan Maskhadov;
                    (B) provided full and unimpeded access into and 
                around Chechnya to international missions to monitor 
                and report on the situation there and to investigate 
                alleged atrocities and war crimes;
                    (C) granted international humanitarian agencies 
                immediate full and unimpeded access to Chechen 
                civilians, including those in refugee, detention, and 
                so-called ``filtration camps'' or any other facility 
                where citizens of Chechnya are detained; and
                    (D) investigated fully the atrocities committed in 
                Chechnya including those alleged in Alkhan-Yurt and 
                Grozny, and initiated prosecutions against officers and 
                soldiers accused of those atrocities.
                                 <all>