American Committee for Peace in Chechnya

Founded in 1999, the American Committee for Peace in Chechnya is the only private, non-governmental organization in North America exclusively dedicated to promoting the peaceful resolution of the Second Chechen war. Chaired by former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, former Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig and former Congressman Stephen J. Solarz, the committee is composed of more than one hundred distinguished Americans representing both major political parties and nearly every walk of life. Based at Freedom House, the Committee's mission encompasses three distinct yet interrelated objectives:

Advocacy: Developing and promoting policies, through the U.S. government and international institutions, aimed at protecting civilians, improving conditions for refugees and securing a cease-fire; Information: Advancing public awareness of the Chechen war, including its broader implications for democracy, human rights, and regional stability in both Russia and the former Soviet Union; and Diplomacy: Convening private "Track II" talks between representatives of the Russian government and Chechen resistance aimed at developing a framework for ending the war and resolving Chechnya's long-term legal and political status.

To those ends, ACPC organizes educational programs for the public, develops policy recommendations for lawmakers and collaborates with an international network of more than 400 activists, journalists, scholars and non-governmental organizations. The Committee distributes Chechnya Today, a daily email news service, and Chechnya Weekly, an online news magazine produced by the Jamestown Foundation and edited until 2004 by Lawrence A. Uzzell.

In keeping with its mandate to be an independent resource for the public and a good-faith arbiter for the warring parties, the committee does not accept financial assistance from the governments of Chechnya or Russia, or from private for-profit corporation with investments in the former Soviet Union.