HE Vladimir Putin
President of the Russian Federation
The Kremlin, Moscow
Via facsimile: +7 095 206 07 66 / 206 24 64

23 January 2003

Dear President Putin,

On behalf of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF), and the International League for Human Rights we extend our greetings.

We are writing to urge you to extend the mandate of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Assistance Group to Chechnya. The Assistance Group's work has made a valuable contribution to efforts to end violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by federal troops and Chechen forces and to promote accountability, both key elements of the rule of law. Throughout your presidency you have spoken strongly in support of the rule of law, making it a cornerstone of your vision for an economically prosperous, stable and healthy Russian state.

In permitting a renewed OSCE presence in Chechnya, with a positive mandate to monitor and address human rights violations, your government would demonstrate its commitment to the rule of law in a part of Russia where its absence has caused the suffering of tens of thousands of people. It would further underscore Russia's adherence to the common values that unite the Helsinki signatory states and the expression of those values through international cooperation.

We urge you positively to consider our appeal, and appreciate your attention.