[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 20, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2190-S2191]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CONDEMNING HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN CHECHNYA

  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to Calendar No. 
329, S. Res. 213.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the 
resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 213) condemning human rights 
     violations in Chechnya and urging a political solution to the 
     conflict.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution and preamble be 
agreed to en bloc, that the amendments to the preamble be agreed to, 
the preamble as amended be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid 
upon the table, and any statements therein be printed in the Record.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The amendments to the preamble were agreed to.
  The resolution (S. Res. 213) was agreed to, as follows:

                              S. Res. 213

       Whereas the United States Department of State Country 
     Reports on Human Rights for 2001 reports that the 
     ``indiscriminate use of force by [Russian] government troops 
     in the Chechen conflict resulted in widespread civilian 
     casualties and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of 
     persons'';
       Whereas the United States Department of State Country 
     Reports on Human Rights for 2001 reports that Russian forces 
     continue to arbitrarily detain, torture, extrajudicially 
     execute, extort, rape, and forcibly disappear people in 
     Chechnya;
       Whereas credible human rights groups within the Russian 
     Federation and abroad report that Russian authorities have 
     failed to launch thorough investigations into these abuses 
     and have taken no significant steps toward ensuring that its 
     high command has taken all necessary measures to prevent 
     abuse;
       Whereas there are credible reports of specific abuses by 
     Russian soldiers in Chechnya, including in Alkhan-Yurt in 
     1999; Staropromysloviski and Aldi in 2000; Alkhan-Kala, 
     Assinovskaia, and Sernovodsk in 2001; and Tsotsin-Yurt and 
     Argun in 2002;
       Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has 
     cracked down on independent media and threatened to revoke 
     the license of RFE/RL, Incorporated, further limiting the 
     ability to ascertain the extent of the crisis in Chechnya;
       Whereas Chechen rebel forces are believed responsible for 
     the assassinations of Chechen civil servants who cooperate 
     with the Government of the Russian Federation, and the 
     Chechen government of Aslan Maskhadov has failed 
     unequivocally to condemn these and other human rights abuses 
     or to distance itself from persons in Chechnya allegedly 
     associated with such forces; and
       Whereas the Department of State officially recognizes the 
     grievous human rights abuses in Chechnya and the need to 
     develop and implement a durable political solution: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the war on terrorism does not excuse, and is ultimately 
     undermined by, abuses by Russian security forces against the 
     civilian population in Chechnya;
       (2) the Government of the Russian Federation and the 
     elected leadership of the Chechen government, including 
     President Aslan Maskhadov, should immediately seek a 
     negotiated settlement to the conflict there;
       (3) the President of the Russian Federation should--
       (A) act immediately to end and to investigate human rights 
     violations by Russian soldiers in Chechnya, and to initiate, 
     where appropriate, prosecutions against those accused;
       (B) provide secure and unimpeded access into and around 
     Chechnya by international monitors and humanitarian 
     organizations to report on the situation, investigate alleged 
     atrocities, and distribute assistance; and
       (C) ensure that refugees and displaced persons in the North 
     Caucasus are registered in accordance with Russian and 
     international law, receive adequate assistance, and are not 
     forced against their will to return to Chechnya; and
       (4) the President of the United States should--
       (A) ensure that no security forces or intelligence units 
     that are the recipients of United States assistance or 
     participants in joint operations, exchanges, or training with 
     United States or NATO forces, are implicated in abuses;
       (B) seek specific information from the Government of the 
     Russian Federation on investigations of reported human rights 
     abuses in Chechnya and prosecutions against those individuals 
     accused of those abuses;
       (C) promote peace negotiations between the Government of 
     the Russian Federation and the elected leadership of the 
     Chechen government, including Aslan Maskhadov; and

[[Page S2191]]

       (D) re-examine the status of Chechen refugees, especially 
     widows and orphans, including consideration of the possible 
     resettlement of such refugees in the United States.

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