09:33, 2 November 2018

OSCE launches Moscow Mechanism because of human rights violations in Chechnya

An actio in support of Oyub Titiev and Oleg Sentsov held at a conference of the OSCE. September 10, 2018. Photo from the Telegram Channel of the Human Rights Centre "Memorial" https://web.telegram.org/#/im?p=@hrcmemorial

Russia has failed to essentially answer the questions asked by the countries of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) about violations of LGBTs' rights and extrajudicial executions in Chechnya. Sixteen countries have called to send an emergency mission to investigate these crimes in connection with Russia's violation of its OSCE commitments.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 30, fifteen OSCE countries demanded from Russia to report on human rights violations in Chechnya and the measures taken.

Russia does not want to solve the problem of human rights violations in Chechnya, representatives of the OSCE have stated. They pointed to the Moscow Mechanism, which envisages the creation of a mission of experts to solve problems with the observance of human rights in Chechnya. It is about "unpunished persecutions, illegal arrests, torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions in Chechnya."

The Moscow Mechanism was adopted in 1991 and is used in case of grave human rights violations, humanitarian disasters and crimes against humanity. It has not yet been applied in relation to Russia.

The US Helsinki Commission (Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe) has supported the proposal to use the Moscow Mechanism in connection with human rights violations in Chechnya.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 1, 2018 at 10:20 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.