APPEAL AGAINST THE RADICAL PARTY'S EXPULSION FROM THE UNITED NATION

The Transnational Radical Party (TRP) is a political organization to which citizens, parliamentarians and members of government belong. Since 1995, when it was awarded consultative status at the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN, it has permitted many personalities to speak at the Commission of Human Rights in Geneva, and denounce the grave violations of fundamental rights throughout the world. At the UN, it has conducted many campaigns, including those for the global moratorium on executions and for the establishment of the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

Last May, however, the Russian Federation accused the Transnational Radical Party of having violated the procedures and principles of the UN Charter, and requested the party's expulsion from the ECOSOC.

In particular, the Russian Federation accused the Transnational Radical Party:

a) of having encouraged Mr. Akhyad Idigov, whom the Russian authorities claim belongs to a terrorist organization, to speak at the 56th session of the Commission of Human Rights in Geneva;

b) b) of receiving financing for its activities from drug-trafficking organizations, and of having promoted, also through actions of civil disobedience, an international campaign for the legalization of banned drugs.

The charges made by the Russian Federation, which are defamatory and completely unfounded, are simply a pretext to oppose the TRP's political initiatives at the international level. In fact:

a) the Russian authorities have neither brought charges against Mr. Idigov, who is a member of the TRP, President Mashkadov's Special Envoy and President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chechen Parliament (a legitimate institution of the Russian Federation); nor issued an international warrant for his arrest. On the contrary, Mr. Idigov has been allowed to leave the territory of the Russian Federation regularly, and has been granted visas to enter various countries. He has spoken at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and held a series of international meetings on the Chechen situation.

b) No reservations or allegations have ever been made at the UN or at any other level, concerning illicit funding of the TRP, which is financed solely by contributions from members and supporters. In fact, the Russian Federation has submitted no evidence to support its charges. With regard to drugs policy, the TRP is definitely not against the war being fought against drug trafficking and international mafias, but firmly believes that prohibitionist laws are mainly responsible for increasing the production and spread of banned drugs and boosting the political and economic power of criminal organizations.

On June 23 the NGO Committee of the United Nations, upon the request of the Russian Federation and despite the strong reservations made by various members, proposed that the Transnational Radical Party's consultative status be suspended for three years.

If this decision is confirmed by the ECOSOC Assembly, it will violate the NGOs' right to opinion and expression, and therefore seriously jeopardize the role of such organizations and their chances of undertaking political initiatives within the framework of the UN, thus creating an extremely serious precedent.

We therefore urgently appeal to the President and members of the ECOSOC and the UN to confirm, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the NGOs' freedom of expression and, consequently, to overturn the decision to prevent the Transnational Radical Party from participating in the work of the United Nations for three years.

NAME

SURNAME

ADDRESS

SIGNATURE

PLEASE SEND BACK THE APPEAL SIGNED AT THE FOLLOWING NUMBER: (212) 980.1072