War and Humanitarian Action in Chechnya

By Greg Hansen and Robert Seely

Review in Relief and Rehabilitation Newsletter, Number 8, May 1997

The report provides an analysis of the background to the conflict in Chechnya, and the major developments during the war from 1994 till the summer of 1996. This conflict is characterised as a war 'without humanitarian pretensions' in which civilians were used in the civilian strategies of both sides and often targeted esp. by the various Russian forces. Lack of understanding of humanitarian principles and suspicion of political partiality, combined with banditry and organised crime typically impeded access and created a very insecure environment for humanitarian agencies to work in. Consequently the humanitarian effort has concentrated on the periphery, among the refugees in Ingushetia and Dagesthan, rather than in Grozny and Chechnya itself, where need was greatest. Striking in the Chechnya conflict has been the muted response of the international community whose interest in securing Russian cooperation on wider political issues prevented it from exercising pressure on Russia to honour the human rights and humanitarian treaties to which it is a signatory. As a result, the OSCE observer mission had little hope of achieving its mandate, while the UN issued appeals for assistance in the periphery, omitting Chechnya until January 1997 (when the Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for January-December 1997 was published), thereby failing decisively in its humanitarian and protection mandate. NGOs in turn are advised to devote more effort to disseminating humanitarian principles and strengthening local capacity.