[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 280 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 280

   Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to United States 
   relations with the Russian Federation in view of the situation in 
                               Chechnya.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 30, 2000

Mr. Wellstone 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 in view of the situation in 
                               Chechnya.

Whereas the Senate of the United States unanimously passed Senate Resolution 262 
        on February 24, 2000, condemning the indiscriminate use of force by the 
        Government of the Russian Federation against the people of Chechnya, 
        encouraging peace negotiations between the Government of the Russian 
        Federation and the leadership of the Chechen Government, and urging the 
        Government of the Russian Federation to immediately grant international 
        organizations full and unimpeded access into Chechnya in order to 
        provide humanitarian assistance and investigate alleged atrocities and 
        war crimes;
Whereas the Committee of Foreign Relations of the Senate received credible 
        evidence and testimony reporting grave human rights violations on both 
        sides of the war in Chechnya;
Whereas the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate received credible 
        evidence and testimony that Russian forces in Chechnya caused the deaths 
        of countless thousands of innocent civilians and the displacement of 
        well over 250,000 innocents; forcibly relocated refugee populations; and 
        committed widespread atrocities including summary executions, arbitrary 
        detentions, torture, and rape;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation continues its military campaign 
        in Chechnya through the use of indiscriminate force, causing further 
        dislocation of people from their homes, the deaths of unarmed civilians 
        and widespread suffering;
Whereas this war contributes to ethnic hatred and religious intolerance within 
        the Russian Federation, and could divert much-needed international 
        development assistance, undercut the ability of the international 
        community to trust the Russian Federation as a signatory to 
        international agreements, generate political instability within the 
        Russian Federation, and be a continuing threat to the peace in the 
        region; and
Whereas the Senate again expresses its deep 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 lack of vigorous and sustained action of most 
        Western governments, including that of the United States, to 
        respond to the conflict in Chechnya could be too easily 
        interpreted by the Government of the Russian Federation as 
        indifference to it and thus allow that government to intensify 
        and expand its military campaign there, further contributing to 
        the suffering of the Chechen people;
            (2) the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir 
        Putin, is responsible for the conduct of Russian troops in and 
        around Chechnya and has an obligation to ensure compliance with 
        international humanitarian law and human rights norms, 
        including the obligation to prevent present and future 
        atrocities there, and to investigate fully atrocities already 
        committed, and to initiate, where appropriate, prosecutions 
        against those accused;
            (3) the Government of the Russian Federation and the 
        leadership of the Chechen Government should immediately cease 
        military operations in Chechnya and seek a negotiated 
        settlement to the conflict there;
            (4) the President of the Russian Federation should--
                    (A) act immediately to end human rights violations 
                by Russian soldiers in Chechnya;
                    (B) allow immediate, full, and unimpeded access 
                into and around Chechnya international monitors to 
                assess and report on the situation there and to 
                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 
                ``filtration'' camps, or any other facility where 
                citizens of Chechnya are detained; and
                    (D) investigate fully atrocities committed in 
                Chechnya, including those alleged in Alkhan-Yurt and 
                Grozny, and initiate, where appropriate, prosecutions 
                against those accused;
            (5) the President of the United States of America 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 
                condition for continued United States-Russian 
                cooperation;
                    (C) conduct a full and comprehensive review of 
                United States foreign policy toward the Russian 
Federation with respect to its conduct in Chechnya, and its 
implications for United States-Russian relations;
                    (D) promote peace negotiations between the 
                Government of the Russian Federation and the leadership 
                of the Chechen Government through third-party mediation 
                by the OSCE Assistance Group in Chechnya, the United 
                Nations, or other appropriate parties;
                    (E) publicly and openly support societal forces in 
                the Russian Federation working to preserve democracy 
                there, including empowering human rights activists and 
                promoting programs designed to strengthen the 
                independent media, trade unions, political parties, and 
                other institutions of a democratic civil society there; 
                and
                    (F) take further, more 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 there, including--
                            (i) sponsoring a Resolution at the 56th 
                        annual meeting of the United Nations Human 
                        Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland, 
                        expressing the Commission's serious concern 
                        about reports of very grave violations of human 
                        rights and humanitarian law in Chechnya, and 
                        including provisions, such as the establishment 
                        of a Commission of Inquiry, to investigate 
                        accusations of violations of the Geneva 
                        Convention Relative to the Protection of 
                        Civilian Persons in Time of War, and other 
                        international humanitarian law;
                            (ii) supporting the appointment of a United 
                        Nations Special Rapporteur for Chechnya; and
                            (iii) placing the war in Chechnya at the 
                        top of the agenda of all high-level diplomatic 
                        meetings involving the United States and the 
                        Russian Federation; and
            (6) the President of the United States should not reverse 
        actions taken under paragraph (5)(f) until the Government of 
        the Russian Federation has--
                    (A) acted forcefully and effectively to end human 
                rights violations by Russian soldiers in Chechnya;
                    (B) provided full and unimpeded access into and 
                around Chechnya to international monitors to assess and 
                report on the situation there and to investigate 
                alleged atrocities and war crimes;
                    (C) granted international humanitarian agencies 
                full and unimpeded access to Chechen civilians, 
                including those in refugee, detention, and 
                ``filtration'' camps, or any other facility where 
                citizens of Chechnya are detained; and
                    (D) begun to investigate fully atrocities committed 
                in Chechnya, including those alleged in Alkhan-Yurt and 
                Grozny, and initiated, where appropriate, prosecutions 
                against those accused.
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