Chechen Republic Representatives Call on Ukraine to Recognize Independence

On Oct. 14, resolutions on the protection of the rights and freedoms of the peoples of the Caucasus were signed in Kyiv.

Parties agreeing on cooperation included the leader of the Russian opposition Ilya Ponomarev, deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, and representatives of the peoples of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in Ukraine, Abkhazia, Adygea, Bashkortostan, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Crimea, Tatarstan and Circassia.

Representatives of the peoples of the Caucasus and Crimea officially appealed to the United Nations (UN) about major violations of human rights committed by the Russian Federation and demanded that they be given the opportunity to freely resolve the issue of state status and cultural and economic development.

A key resolution supports the appeal of Chechen Republic representative Akhmed Zakayev to the leadership of Ukraine to recognize the state independence of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, currently occupied by Russia.

History in brief

On Nov. 25, 1990, the National Congress of the Chechen People proclaimed a Declaration on the State Sovereignty of Chechnya, based on the Chechen peoples’ natural right to self-determination.

The Chechen Republic (as it was then known), gained state independence after the collapse of the USSR. On March 12, 1992, parliament approved a new Constitution, establishing the Chechen Republic as a “sovereign and independent democratic State governed by the rule of law.”

The state was renamed the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria on Jan. 16, 1994.

Russia subsequently unleashed two wars against the Chechen State: the first from 1994 to 1996 failed to break the state, though the second, from 1999 to 2009, proved more brutal and resulted in Russia’s illegal occupation of its territory.

Russia’s actions violated the recognized norms of international law and Russia’s bilateral international obligations – the Treaty on Peace and Principles of Relations between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, dated May 12, 1997.

During Russia’s aggression, its armed forces committed numerous international crimes on the territory of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, which led to the genocide of the Chechen people.

International crimes committed by Russia against the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.