118 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has received a report from the OSCE observer mission which visited Dagestan and Chechnya recently to inspect the humanitarian situation; if so, if this report indicates that war crimes have been committed; and the action, if any, he will take on this issue. [24455/99]

The OSCE observer mission visited Ingushetia on 10 November and was denied permission to enter Chechnya on 11 November. The observer mission was led by Ambassador Kim Traavik, personal representative of the Norwegian Foreign Minister, Mr. Knut Vollebaek, who chairs the OSCE. The acting head of the OSCE assistance group to Chechnya, Ambassador Skagestad, also participated. The mission's mandate was to assess the humanitarian situation in the north Caucasus. There is as yet no published report from the OSCE observer mission.

I understand the mission visited a number of Chechen refugee camps, including the camps at Sputnik and Karabulak, and the Kavkaz border control point, close to the Ingush-Chechen administrative border. Meetings were held with the Prime Minister of Ingushetia, Mr. Darsigov, the chairman of the Parliament of Ingushetia, Mr. Pliev, and with Mr. Koshman, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation responsible for the civil administration of Chechnya.

Media reports on the mission's visit indicate that there is a serious humanitarian problem in Ingushetia and that there is a real risk of further deterioration unless the humanitarian relief effort is significantly stepped up. There are serious problems as regards basic requirements such as shelter, nutrition, sanitation and health. I am not aware of any references to war crimes in the context of the statements made by the members of the mission.