The American Committee for Peace in the Caucasus

ACPC Weekly News UPDATE
June 21, 2010 – June 27, 2010

In surprise about-face, Russia backs Council of Europe resolution critical of Kremlin policies in the North Caucasus

On Tuesday June 22, the Parliamentary Assembly at the Council of Europe (PACE) voted in favor of a draft resolution critical of Russia’s policy in the North Caucasus. Although the report prepared by the Swiss senator Dick Marty, which the resolution was based on, noted positive developments such as reconstruction efforts in Chechnya and the ongoing dialogue between authorities and civil society in Ingushetia, it expressed alarm in the upsurge of violence throughout the region and condemned the lack of stronger efforts by the authorities in thoroughly investigating numerous cases of grave human rights violations. Reflecting an unprecedented show of support for a resolution so critical of the country’s policies, the Russian Duma parliamentary delegation to the PACE voted in favor of the draft resolution which passed overwhelmingly with 132 votes in favor and six abstentions.

The president of Ingushetia, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, was the only head of the three republics – Chechnya, Dagestan, and Ingushetia - covered in the report who attended the PACE session. In his written testimony, he pledged to continue working with families of victims of human rights violations but teplying to the criticism of Russian authorities by the Estonian and Georgian delegates, he defended Russia’s brutal policies in the region.

The Russian parliamentary delegation’s support for the resolution signals a possible shift in the political realities in Russia. Many observers have even suggested that the Kremlin is undergoing an overall reassessment of the federal government’s policies aimed at pacifying the region that were first introduced by then President Vladimir Putin during the Second Chechen campaign. Another notable development was the recent ratification of Protocol 14 by the Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, after years of opposition. Protocol 14 aims to reform the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg where Russia currently has the largest number of cases filed against it.