Human Rights Violations in Chechnya

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Violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The following are examples of the particular Human Rights, as defined by the United Nations, that are being violated in Chechnya. These are only a few examples and can not even begin to describe the pain that these people are dealing with nor does it include every Human Rights violation. If you have any violations that you know of and would like to add, please feel free to contact us.
Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
EXPLANATION: Chechens are not being treated with their rights that they were born with. The Russian security forces are not treating the Chechens as equals.
Article 2: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
EXPLANATION: If everyone is entitled to rights and freedoms then the Chechens are being deprived of these rights. They have the right to be independent from Russia.

Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
EXPLANATION: The Chechens are not being given the right of life, liberty, or security. The Russian security forces are not giving these people the security that they are entitled to.

Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
EXPLANATION: The Chechens are being subjected to torture by the Russian security forces.
Article 8: Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
EXPLANATION: The Chechens were subjected to arrest against their will.
Article 11: (Section 1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
(Section 2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.
EXPLANATION: The Russian security forces assume the people that they accuse to be rebels without evidence. They do not give the people a chance to prove themselves, even if they are innocent. They are not assumed to be innocent, they are assumed to be guilty. They take the word of an informer as evidence enough to torture and kill "rebels".
Article 12: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
EXPLANATION: Russian military forces have burst into Chechen homes and taken money, personal pictures, destroyed furniture and family treasures.
Article 15: (Section 1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(Section 2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
EXPLANATION: In the village of Mesker-Yurt, Russian Federation troops destroyed all the villages records:marriage, death, and birth certificates. The people don't have the right to have a nationality, whether it be Chechen or Russian; they now have no way to prove that they were not born somewhere else.
Article 17: (Section 1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(Section 2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Article 18: Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 21: (Section 3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
Artilce 25: (Section 1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(Section 2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
Article 26: (Section 1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(Section 2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(Section 3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
Article 27: (Section 1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
(Section 2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

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