Today, the ICJ joined other human rights organizations in calling for the immediate establishment of an international criminal tribunal on Chechnya.
The court should investigate and punish those responsible – including at the highest level of the Russian State – for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the course of the conflict in Chechnya.
The ICJ condemns the treatment and language used by Russian officials against United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Mary Robinson, during her visit to the Russian Federation. Common courtesy, at least, would have demanded that President Putin grant the High Commissioner, a former Irish State President, an audience.
The ICJ calls again for the immediate suspension of the Russian Federation from the Council of Europe and adequate diplomatic, economic, and financial measures from the international community at large. « Failing to take this stance against the Russian Federation will only render the international community complicit in further war crimes and crimes against humanity in Chechnya », declared today the ICJ Secretary-General Mr. Adama Dieng.