Chechnya

People in Chechnya who are suspected of being lesbian, gay or bisexual, are facing a “new wave of persecution” following a spate of killings involving torture, and other rights abuses, said a group of independent UN human rights experts on Wednesday.

The humanitarian situation has improved significantly in the Russian republic of Chechnya, where hundreds of thousands of people were uprooted in two separatist wars, but serious challenges remain, including security and human rights abuses, the United Nations refugee agency said in a report from the Chechen capital of Grozny.

A United Nations expert on torture has postponed a fact-finding mission to Russia, including the troubled region of Chechnya, because of differences over making unannounced visits to detention centres and holding private interviews with detainees.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will open an office in the war-torn republic of Chechnya in the Russian Federation as soon as security conditions allow, the head of the agency announced today, saying a presence on the ground would allow it to improve assistance to the war-affected population, which includes tens of thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs).

The top United Nations human rights official has been invited by Russian authorities to visit Chechnya, where the Government is embroiled in a long-running war with separatists and where, according to a UN expert, the State is confronted with the challenge of ensuring security whilst observing human rights.

United Nations agencies have been rushing food and medical supplies to the hundreds of children and adults caught up in the hostage-taking tragedy in Beslan, southern Russia, which left 338 people dead and 747 injured.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today reported that the Russian Federation plans to close the last remaining tented camp for displaced Chechens living in the neighbouring republic of Ingushetia.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Security Council today voiced both their dismay and condemnation of Sunday's terrorist attack in Grozny, which killed Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov and a number of bystanders.

The United Nations refugee agency today voiced concern about displaced Chechens in neighbouring Ingushetia following week-old cuts in heating gas to 10 temporary settlements with over 2,000 people who also face the threatened suspension of water and electricity supplies.

Just back from a trip to Eastern Europe including stops in Chechnya and countries affected by the Chernobyl disaster, the top United Nations relief official today urged the world to pay attention to suffering in these often-overlooked areas.