§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will invite the Russian Government to agree to the re-establishment of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Assistance Group to Chechnya; and what other measures they consider should be taken by the OSCE to ensure that a full assessment of the human rights situation in Chechnya is made in advance of their human dimension implementation meeting in October 2004. [HL2236]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanThe EU and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) chairmanship have made a number of appeals to the Russian Federation in the hope of persuading them to allow the OSCE to operate in Chechnya again. Most recently, in the OSCE permanent council on 25 March, the EU presidency stated that "the EU supports renewed engagement by the OSCE, including ODIHR, in Chechnya". So far, there has been no indication that Russia would countenance a re-establishment of the OSCE Assistance Group. It is difficult for the OSCE to assess the human rights situation in Chechnya without a presence in the region.