SECRETARY-GENERAL FOLLOWING SITUATION IN NORTHERN CAUCASUS WITH GREAT CONCERN
Press Release
SG/SM/7210
SECRETARY-GENERAL FOLLOWING SITUATION IN NORTHERN CAUCASUS WITH GREAT CONCERN
19991112The following statement was issued today by the Office of the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:
The Secretary-General has been following the situation in the Northern Caucasus with great concern. While committed to combating and ending terrorism, he considers it vital that the use of force to combat this scourge should be proportional, and should be focused directly on the terrorists themselves. He recalls that international humanitarian law -- including, especially, the Geneva Conventions -- is binding and must be fully respected at all times. This means that the protection of innocent civilians from the effects of conflict should always receive the highest priority.
The Secretary-General, therefore, is disturbed to see that the scope of the military offensive in Chechnya seems to have evolved far beyond a campaign with the limited objective of rooting out terrorists, and that it has caused great suffering and high casualties to civilians, including the elderly and women and children. He renews his appeal to the Russian leadership to take immediate steps to protect the civilian population from further suffering. He urges them to lose no time in seeking a long-term solution to the conflict, which he believes can only be done through a political process.
The Secretary-General wishes to thank the Government of the Russian Federation for receiving, and cooperating with, the humanitarian mission which he sent to the region at the end of last week. He has now received the report setting forth the mission's findings and recommendations. He has asked the United Nations humanitarian agencies to keep the report's recommendations in view as they prepare to strengthen and expand their relief programmes. This will be essential in ensuring prompt international action to alleviate the suffering of the innocent civilian victims of the conflict.
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