COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION TAKES UP RUSSIAN FEDERATION REPORT

29 February 1996

Press Release
RD/848

COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION TAKES UP RUSSIAN FEDERATION REPORT

19960229 Experts Request Information on Situation of National Groups in Chechnya and Ingusheita

The entry of the Russian Federation into the Council of Europe, which became official today, came in recognition of the progress made by the country in building a democratic society, the Russian representative told the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon.

According to Andrei I. Kolossovsky, remaining problems in the country would be solved through the enhancement of democracy and the establishment of the rule of law. He spoke as he presented the thirteenth periodic report of the Russian Federation on its implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Mr. Kolossovsky said the situation in Chechnya could be said to be a national tragedy. The crisis had made the situation more difficult for certain subjects of the Russian Federation. The Russian leadership was constantly making efforts to settle the situation peacefully. The crisis was not based on national or religious factors, but on political ones.

Committee members welcomed the report but regretted that it contained no information on the problems in Chechnya and Ingushetia. The situation in Chechnya was an area of major concern, said one expert, citing reports of the use of excessive force to suppress the attempted secession there. The treatment of Chechens and other members of minority national groups in the Russian Federation also raised questions.

Discussion of Report

Introducing the Russian report (document CERD/C/263/Add.9), ANDREI I. KOLOSSOVSKY (Russian Federation) said the situation in Chechnya could be said to be a national tragedy. The crisis had made the situation more difficult for certain subjects of the Russian Federation. The Russian leadership was constantly making efforts to settle the situation peacefully. The crisis in Chechnya was not based on national or religious factors, but on political

ones. The problem arose when an illicit regime created major armed groupings and carried out a policy of obvious separatist leanings through the use of terroristic means.

The Russian Federation had come a long way since 1991 in creating a democratic society, he continued. Recognition of this had come in the form of the acceptance of the country into the Council of Europe, which had become official today. Remaining problems in the country would be solved through the enhancement of democracy and the establishment of the rule of law.

RÜDIGER WOLFRUM, country rapporteur, said the report did not do justice to the positive changes in the Russian Federation in the last few years. Regarding the legal protection of national minorities, how were the different constitutional provisions concerning them applied in reality? Article 19 of the Russian Constitution provided for equality of rights regardless of "race, nationality, language, origin or other circumstances". This article could not be regarded as an implementation of the prohibition of racial discrimination contained in the Convention, which was broader. Differences such as this one led to one question: What was the status of the Convention under Russian law?

The law of 26 April 1991 on the rehabilitation of repressed national groups, he said, recognized their right to the restoration of their territorial integrity; the restoration or creation of new national and State institutions according to their desires; and to compensation for damage caused by the State. Which territories had been restored? What new institutions had been created? Had any compensation been paid? The report also did not provide appropriate information on the situation prevailing in Ingushetia. According to reports, large areas of Ingushetia and North Ossetia were under a state of emergency since the war of November 1992. The majority of the 47,000 Ingush in North Ossetia had been expelled by the Ossetians and had been unable to return home.

Another major area of concern was the situation in Chechnya, and what he was about to say should not be construed as an encouragement of secession or terrorist acts. It was to be deplored that the written report of the Russian Federation did not refer to Chechnya. It had been claimed, including by Human Rights Watch, that the Russian military forces had used excessive force in suppressing the attempted secession in Chechnya, resulting in unnecessary civilian casualties. The former head of the Russian Commission on Human Rights, Sergei Kovalev, had spoken last year of many reports of arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment of prisoners, torture and pillage in Chechnya.

Furthermore, there were reports of ill-treatment of Chechens living outside Chechnya, as listed in a memorandum from the Interparliamentary Groups for Relations with Chechnya. The Human Rights Committee had expressed deep concern about the reported treatment of detainees held in "filtration camps". More general issues were also a cause for concern with regard to the situation

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of persons belonging to minorities. One such issue was the continued existence at the local level of residence permit laws (propiska) which prevented freedom of movement and were thus unconstitutional, according to a Constitutional Supervision Committee ruling of 1991. The expert also requested information on reports of growing anti-Semitism in Russia and on the activities of self-declared anti-Semitic and racist groups. Reports of police brutality and of misconduct against dark-skinned detainees also called for an explanation.

The Russian report contained much information, but it ignored the most serious problems, namely the crises in Chechnya and Ingushetia. Now that the Russian Federation had been admitted to the Council of Europe, would it accept the procedure for receiving individual petitions under the European Convention on Human Rights? he asked. Did any of the human rights concluded within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) contain provisions against racial discrimination? Could the Committee receive a list of all the national groups oppressed in the past?

Other experts requested information on the exercise of the right of self-determination of national groups; the nature and origins of the crises in Chechnya and Ingushetia; the protection afforded by a draft multilateral convention on the rights of persons belonging to national, ethnic, linguistic or religious minorities elaborated within the framework of the CIS; and the provisions of the draft law on national and cultural autonomy mentioned in the report. Was it known that the Government had recognized the competence of the Committee to receive individual communications alleging violations of the rights protected under the Convention?

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