DATE=4/4/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=ANNAN - CHECHNYA (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-260942
BYLINE=LISA SCHLEIN
DATELINE=GENEVA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The United Nations secretary-general backs a
call by the top U-N human rights official for an
independent investigation into alleged abuses by
Russian soldiers in Chechnya. Lisa Schlein reports
from Geneva.
TEXT: U-N Secretary-General Kofi Annan discussed the
Chechnya situation with the U-N human rights chief,
Mary Robinson, soon after she arrived back in Geneva
from a visit to Russia. Ms. Robinson is scheduled to
report to the U-N Human Rights Commission on Wednesday
about her five-day visit to Moscow and Chechnya.
Before leaving for the airport to meet Ms. Robinson,
Secretary-General Annan told reporters he backs her
call for a full investigation into the human rights
situation in Chechnya.
/// FIRST ANNAN ACT ///
Ms. Robinson has one of the most difficult tasks
in the system and her trip to the region, I
think, was useful. And I believe that the
allegations have been so persistent and are so
serious that investigation into them would be
necessary and healthy, and I would urge the
Russian authorities to undertake that
investigation.
/// END ACT ///
Ms. Robinson's five-day trip to Moscow and Chechnya
was frustrating and mired in controversy. Russian
authorities denied her access to several detention
camps in Chechnya. But, she was able to interview a
number of Chechen refugees in the neighboring republic
of Ingushetia.
Russian authorities called her charges of gross human
rights violations outrageous, and told her that Russia
would not tolerate any interference in its internal
affairs.
Earlier Tuesday, U-N Secretary-General Annan told the
53-member Human Rights Commission that every
government must protect the freedoms of its citizens
and be held accountable to international standards.
Mr. Annan did not mention any country by name. But,
he said the defense of human rights goes beyond
national borders and concerns everyone in the world.
/// SECOND ANNAN ACT ///
Violations of human rights are no longer
considered an internal matter. International
human rights law is emphatic that when human
rights are being violated, the international
community has a right and a duty to respond, and
to come to the assistance of the victims.
/// END ACT ///
Pressure is growing from several quarters for a full-
scale investigation into alleged atrocities in
Chechnya. An influential group of international
jurists has joined the United Nations human rights
chief and numerous private human rights groups urging
an investigation.
The International Commission of Jurists also called
for Russia's immediate suspension from the Council of
Europe. The Council's parliamentary assembly is
meeting in Strasbourg to consider the question.
(Signed)
NEB/LS/JWH/ENE/gm
04-Apr-2000 13:30 PM EDT (04-Apr-2000 1730 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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