Cowen rejects Amnesty criticism over Chechnya

The Minister for Foreign Affairs has rejected criticism of Ireland's international record on human rights.

Brian Cowen was responding to a report by Amnesty International today which claimed Ireland had failed to use its presidency of the Council of Europe to press for Russia to halt alleged human rights abuses in Chechnya.

He said the issue had had his constant personal attention while Ireland held the post and pointed out that the government had been thanked for its efforts in the area by high-ranking EU officials.

Minister Cowen said that Russia could only be pressured to "fulfill its obligations" if it remained a member of the Council, thus suspension would have been counter-productive.

However, the statement made no mention of Amnesty's other main criticism - the procedures available for making complaints against gardai.

Justice Minister John O'Donoghue has also yet to respond.