The Council of Europe will send senior officials to Russia, including Chechnya, later this month to review Moscow's human rights record in the north Caucasus ahead of a key debate at the 41-nation assembly, Interfax reported Tuesday.
Monitors from the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), headed by Lord Frank Judd of Britain and Rudolf Binding of Germany were due to visit Russia on January 13-17, the news agency said.
The monitors would use the trip to prepare a report for the Strasbourg-based assembly's winter session, scheduled for January 22-26, which is set to debate whether to reinstate Russia's voting rights.
Last April, Russia became the first member in the Council of Europe's 50-year history to be stripped of its voting rights after reports of widespread human rights abuses by Russian troops fighting in Chechnya.
Judd, who heads the Council's committee on refugees and migration, led two delegations to the north Caucasus last year and hinted during a trip to Moscow in December that it could still be too soon to reinstate Russia's voting rights.
Moscow has been fighting a 15-month war against the rebels in Chechnya since launching a self-styled "anti-terrorist" operation in the troubled republic on October 1, 1999.
But PACE has urged Russia to take immediate and effective measures to improve the human rights situation in the breakaway republic by punishing servicemen guilty of war crimes, stopping illegal arrests and abuse of detainees.
It has also called on Russia to begin political dialogue with Chechen civilians and field commanders as soon as possible and without preconditions.
Russia has said that it will only conduct negotiations if the rebels lay down their weapons and surrender -- MOSCOW (AFP)
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