Rights defenders doubt OSCE's ability to impact situation with human rights in Chechnya

Russia can ignore the demands of 15 OSCE member states to report within a ten-day period on measures taken to protect human rights in Chechnya, note Russian rights defenders.

On August 31, the OSCE asked the Russian authorities to answer four questions, including as follows: what had been done to verify the fulfilment by the Chechen leaders of the obligations assumed by the Russian Federation as a member of the OSCE; what the Russian authorities had done to investigate violations of the rights of LGBT community members and on what basis it had been concluded there were no people with non-traditional sexual orientation in Chechnya; what steps had been taken to ensure the proper functioning of the media and activities of rights defenders in the Chechen Republic and, in particular, the activities of the HRC "Memorial"; and how the information on extrajudicial execution 27 people in Chechnya had been investigated.

The OSCE member states referred to the Vienna Mechanism, which allowed OSCE member states to raise the issue of human rights protection in another OSCE member state.

Moscow will be in a "shameful position" if it refuses to respond to the OSCE's requests, believes Tatiana Lokshina, the chief for the Moscow Office of the "Human Rights Watch" (HRW).

Russia will subjected to more moral than real pressure, believes Konstantin Baranov, a member of the coordinating council of the International Youth Human Rights Movement. He has noted that all OSCE mechanisms are very weak and are designed for the goodwill of states.