§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what monitoring of human rights in Chechnya is being undertaken by his Department; and what departmental representatives have visited Chechnya. [112696]
§ Mr. VazWe monitor a wide range of sources on the human rights situation in Chechnya, including international humanitarian and human rights organisations and the Russian and Western media. An FCO official visited Chechnya as part of an OSCE delegation in February 1995; he was subsequently seconded to the OSCE Assistance Group in Grozny from August to December 1996 and served as an election observer in the Chechen Presidential elections in January 1997. No departmental representatives have visited Chechnya since then, in view of the serious deterioration of the security situation. But our Embassy in Moscow and experts in London continue to monitor the situation closely.