[autom.vertaling] Tchetchenië na de verkiezingen en de burgerlijke maatschappij in Rusland (en)

Parliament adopted a joint resolution on Chechnya. MEPs reiterate their strong condemnation of all acts of terrorism throughout the Russian Federation, for which there can be no justification.

The House remains deeply concerned that the Council and Commission have failed to address the ongoing serious human rights violations in the Chechen Republic despite the fact that these violations are still occurring on a large scale on both sides of the conflict and in a climate of almost complete impunity.

Parliament urges the Council and Commission to confront their responsibilities in the face of the most serious human rights issues in the immediate neighbourhood of the European Union. MEPs regret the fact that, during the preparation and conduct of the parliamentary elections in Chechnya, an opportunity for a truly political and democratic process involving all sections of Chechen society was missed. The House stresses that special emphasis must be placed on investigations into crimes against human rights activists, lawyers, prosecutors, judges and applicants to the European Court of Human Rights and their family members.

MEPs urge the Commission to investigate whether the humanitarian aid it has provided for the Northern Caucasus region has in fact reached the people in need and to assess the effectiveness of this aid.

Parliament is concerned about reports of administrative and judicial harassment of some NGOs active in Chechnya, which seems to be part of a more general process threatening freedom of expression and of association in the Russian Federation, and urges the Russian authorities to put an end to this harassment.  

MEPs regret that the bill strengthening government control over NGOs in Russia was passed easily in both houses of parliament and failed to take fully into account the recommendations made by the Council of Europe in its provisional opinion on the matter. The House hopes that President Putin, before signing the bill into law, can still ensure that it is fully in line with the Council of Europe's recommendations and clearly designed to prevent harassment of NGO activists in Russia. The House calls, in this regard, on the Council and Commission to make every effort to support the development and consolidation of a strong, lively, independent and genuine civil society in Russia as a fundamental and indispensable element of a functioning democracy.

Finally, MEPs call for the dropping of all charges against Stanislav Dmitriyevsky and calls on the Russian authorities to respect the freedom of the media and journalists.