Open Letter to U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell
July 19, 2002

The Honorable Colin L. Powell
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20520

Dear Secretary Powell,

On behalf of the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), I am writing to express our deep concern for the future of approximately 180,000 Chechen civilians displaced by the ongoing war in Chechnya and living mostly in Ingushetia, but also in Dagestan and Georgia. MSF is disturbed by recent events that indicate an increase in a trend toward forced repatriation of displaced Chechens to their home areas inside Chechnya. We must reiterate that these civilians are being pressured to return by Russian and Chechen authorities to a territory still effectively in a state of civil war, widely characterized by the enforcement of arbitrary rules, the indiscriminate use of violence against civilians, and the perpetration of massive violations of human rights.

In the past few weeks, MSF publicly condemned the Russian authorities for steps they have undertaken to step up forced repatriation of displaced Chechen civilians:

• On May 29, 2002, the Russian Federation, the Government of the Republic of Ingushetia, and the Government of the Republic of Chechnya signed, for the first time since the resumption of the war in 1999, a formal agreement to implement the repatriation of all displaced people in Ingushetia before the end of October 2002. This agreement includes the complete closure of the tented camps in Ingushetia, without provisions for an alternative relocation for those who do not wish to return. This measure was confirmed in a press conference on the 11th July 2002 by Stanislav Ilyasov, Head of the pro-Chechen government, citing Russian President Vladimir Putin's order to 'liquidate' these camps before the autumn.
• At the same time, military forces have recently been positioned in the direct vicinity of the Chechen IDP camps in Ingushetia (e.g. the newly installed military post of Troitskaya about 5 km from the Sputnik and Alina tented camps in Sleptovskaya, eastern Ingushetia), and this has coincided with an increased number of arrests of IDPs and of the 'disappearance' of others from these camps. These events heighten the climate of insecurity and fear, and further exert pressure on the Chechen IDPs to leave.
• On July 7, 2002, Russian authorities decided to close a tent camp accommodating 2,200 displaced people in the northern region of Znamenskoye in Chechnya. The closure of the camp was accompanied by a campaign of harassment, coercion, and threats from the authorities, which left no other option for the displaced than to move back to their home area in Grozny where the general insecurity is much greater than in the north of the republic.

MSF fears that operations like the one we witnessed in Znamenskoye will be repeated in the coming weeks by Russian authorities in the north Caucasus. MSF wants to strongly reiterate that such operations are clear violations of international humanitarian law, which recognizes that war-affected people have the right to seek safe refuge, and that their return shall be done on a voluntary basis, in safety, and with dignity.

A voluntary return also obliges the authorities maintain viable options for those choosing to remain in areas of refuge. Provisions of the May 29 agreement that are currently being enforced include the closing of all tent camps and the suspension of humanitarian aid in Ingushetia. MSF believes that there is a clear willingness from the authorities to leave no other option to the displaced Chechens than to go back to their war-torn home regions. In February 2002, MSF published a report that documented the deplorable living conditions of displaced Chechens in Ingushetia as a result of a deliberate policy of non-assistance adopted by Ingush and federal authorities.

Testimonies collected from the displaced people identified that this policy has been implemented by the suspension of official registration of the newly arrived Chechen displaced persons, constant psychological pressure on the displaced to return home, and the cessation of critical humanitarian assistance programs by the authorities including food distribution, provision of water and gas to the tented camps, and rehabilitation/construction of shelters.

MSF has been providing medical assistance to displaced Chechens in Ingushetia, Dagestan, and to a limited extent, in Chechnya proper, since the resumption of the war in 1999. Displaced Chechens continue to tell MSF humanitarian workers that they don't want to go back home at this time, given the great insecurity and the human rights violations committed on a daily basis by Russian troops.

Mr. Secretary, a May 9, 2002 statement on the United States policy on Chechnya delivered by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Steven Pifer before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe underlined that, "We have also stressed in our discussions with the Russian Government that the return of the displaced to Chechnya be voluntary," and that, "The danger to civilians in Chechnya remains our greatest concern. The human rights situation is poor, with a history of abuses by all sides and little or no accountability by either."

Taking this statement into account, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) urges you to take the necessary means in your power to:

• Ensure that forced repatriation of the displaced Chechens will not be carried out by the Russian, Ingush or Chechen authorities;
• Take measures to hold Russia responsible for respecting humanitarian law both inside Chechnya and in neighboring republics, particularly by assuring adequate protection and assistance of displaced Chechens settled in Ingushetia;
• Ensure that independent international monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations closely follow this issue and publicly report any incident violating the principle of voluntary repatriation of war-affected people.
• Publicly condemn any action taken by the Russian authorities that violates international humanitarian law, particularly the forced repatriation of displaced Chechens.

MSF urges you to give this matter your utmost attention. We would be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Yours sincerely,

Nicolas de Torrente
Executive Director, MSF-USA

cc: Paula Dobriansky, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs
cc: A. Elizabeth Jones, Assistant Secretary of State for European & Eurasian Affairs
cc: Steven K. Pifer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European & Eurasian Affairs
cc: Arthur E. Dewey, Assistant Secretary of State for Populations, Refugees & Migration
cc: Lorne W. Craner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights & Labor
cc: John Evans, Director, Office of Russian Affairs
cc: Pierre-Richard Prosper, Ambassador-At-Large for War Crimes Issues
cc: Richard N. Haass, Director of Policy Planning