[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 38 (Thursday, March 30, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1998-S2000]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 280--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE WITH RESPECT 
 TO UNITED STATES RELATIONS WITH THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN VIEW OF THE 
                         SITUATION IN CHECHNYA

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

                              S. Res. 280

       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;

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       (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.

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I rise today to draw attention to the 
continuing war in Chechnya and to remind the international community 
that our lack of vigorous and sustained action to respond to the 
conflict there could be too easily interpreted by the Russian 
Government as indifference to it. We must act to again remind the newly 
elected President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, that he 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; and we must act to urge the 
Government of the Russian Federation and the leadership of the Chechen 
Government to immediately cease military operations in Chechnya and to 
seek a negotiated just settlement to the conflict there.
  Today I am offering a Resolution which urges the Administration to 
sponsor a Resolution condemning the Russian Federation's conduct in 
Chechnya at the annual United Nations Human Rights Commission meeting 
that is currently underway in Geneva, Switzerland, to support the 
appointment of a U.N. Special Rapporteur for Chechnya, and to place the 
war in Chechnya at the top of the agenda of all high-level diplomatic 
meetings involving the United States and the Russian Federation. The 
United States must publicly and actively affirm respect for human 
rights, democratic rule of law and international accountability as a 
foundation of United States policy and not simply pay them lip service.
  Sunday night we watched as acting President Vladimir Putin was 
elected President of the Russian Federation. As the President of a 
fully sovereign state I do not question President Putin's authority to 
combat what it perceives as terrorism on its own soil and to ensure the 
integrity of its borders, nor do I dismiss credible reports of grave 
violations of human rights on both sides of this war. I do, however, 
condemn the continuing indiscriminate use of force by the Russian 
military in Chechnya and the blatant disregard it continues to show for 
international humanitarian law there.
  Last month the Senate Foreign Relations Committee heard evidence and 
testimony reporting that Russian forces in Chechnya have 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. While they 
claim to have begun to open up access to the region, the Russian 
government continues to effectively deny international organizations 
full and unimpeded access into Chechnya to assess and report on the 
situation there, to investigate alleged atrocities and war crimes, and 
to provide humanitarian relief.

  I am not alone in my concern about the situation in Chechnya. Last 
November both the House and Senate passed resolutions expressing grave 
concern regarding the armed conflict in the North Caucasus region of 
the Russian Federation and condemning the violence in Chechnya. On 
February 24 of this year, the Senate unanimously agreed to Senate 
Resolution 262, calling for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in 
Chechnya, and Senate Resolution 261, regarding the detention of the 
journalist Andrei Babitsky. Finally, just a few weeks ago on March 9, 
Senate Resolution 269, regarding relations with the Russian Federation 
given its conduct in Chechnya, was referred to the Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee.
  We have all read editorials on Chechnya in the news media written by 
our own colleagues, witnessed a joint conference on Chechnya by the 
Commonwealth of Independent States Inter-parliamentary Assembly and the 
European Parliament, heard claims by a leading Russian human rights 
activist who is also a member of the Russian Parliament offering fierce 
criticism of the Russian government's efforts in Chechnya, and listened 
as just this past week at the annual meeting of the U.N. Human Rights 
Commission meeting in Geneva, Secretary Albright objected to the 
indiscriminate use of force against civilians in Chechnya and 
proclaimed that allegations of Russian human rights violations are 
serious and must be addressed urgently. In a phone call to congratulate 
President Putin on his victory in the Presidential election, President 
Clinton expressed his hope that Mr. Putin would carry out impartial and 
transparent investigations of reported human rights violations in 
Chechnya and provide prompt and full access for international 
organizations and the press. But, Mr. President, even after all this 
commentary, and numerous meetings designed to press the Russians to 
change course, the situation has changed hardly at all.
  I fully support Secretary Albright's decision to address the 
allegations of gross human rights abuses by Russian soldiers in 
Chechnya in her address to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, and the 
President's raising this issue again in his phone call to President 
Putin, but the grave situation in Chechnya demands that we do more. The 
annual meeting of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights provides a

[[Page S2000]]

major forum for addressing human rights concerns and for expressing 
international commentary on the human rights performance of all 
nations. The Government of the Russian Federation must be held 
accountable for its conduct in Chechnya and should be forced to defend 
itself against allegations of grave human rights violations there, in 
the full light of public scrutiny.
  The administration should bring a resolution expressing the 
Commission's serious concern about reports of gross human rights abuses 
and other violations of humanitarian law in Chechnya, including 
provisions urging the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry to 
investigate violations of the Geneva Convention and other international 
humanitarian law. It must also support the appointment of a United 
Nations Special Rapporteur for Chechnya to assess and report on the 
situation there, and place the war in Chechnya at the top of the agenda 
of all high-level diplomatic meetings involving the United States and 
the Russian Federation.
  Mr. President, it is high time the United States expressed its 
commitment to human rights, democratic rule of law, and international 
accountability through concrete action. We must send a message to the 
Russian Federation, as well as the international community, that 
respect for these important principles will be a condition for 
continued cooperation with the United States. We must demand concrete 
action by the Government of the Russian Federation to end human rights 
violations by Russian soldiers in Chechnya, to investigate, where 
appropriate, those accused of violations, and to ease the suffering of 
civilians there. We must not be diverted by verbal commitments by the 
Russian leadership that never come to fruition. We need to exercise our 
leadership now. The international community and the people of Chechnya 
deserve no less.

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