Report accuses Russia of crimes in Chechnya

Human Rights Watch says the abuses are crimes against humanity.
MOSCOW (AP) -- Widespread kidnappings of civilians in Chechnya, most of them allegedly by government forces, have reached the level of a crime against humanity, Human Rights Watch said Monday in a report that also condemned the European Union for taking no action on the problem.
In France, Chechnya's Moscow-backed president, Alu Alkhanov, acknowledged human rights abuses in Chechnya but said "the situation has been improving" and reports of widespread kidnappings in the breakaway province were exaggerated. He also ruled out negotiations with the separatists on independence, autonomy or even a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Chechnya talks
The New York-based Human Rights Watch issued its report as the Council of Europe hosted informal talks on Chechnya's future in Strasbourg, France. The council is Europe's top human rights watchdog.
The report said thousands of people have vanished in Chechnya since 1999, the start of the latest conflict between Russian forces and separatists. The report documented several dozen new cases of "disappearances" that it said had occurred mostly within recent months.
"Thousands of people have 'disappeared' in Chechnya since 1999, with the full knowledge of the Russian authorities," said Rachel Denber, acting executive director of Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia Division. "Witnesses now tell us that the atmosphere of utter arbitrariness and intimidation is 'worse than a war.'"
Human Rights Watch also condemned the European Union for failing to introduce a resolution on Chechnya this year at the 53-nation U.N Commission on Human Rights, which is now in session in Geneva. In both 2000 and 2001, the U.N. commission passed resolutions calling on the Russian government to stop abuses in Chechnya.
"It is astounding that the European Union has decided to take no action on Chechnya at the commission," Denber said. "To look the other way while crimes against humanity are being committed is unconscionable."
Human Rights Watch cited an estimate by local human rights groups that 3,000-5,000 people have gone missing since the beginning of the current conflict in 1999, the second in a decade. Russian authorities deny all responsibility for their fate or knowledge of their whereabouts, it said.
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