UN investigation finds Russia responsible for downing of MH17 flight
The downing of the Malaysian Airlines aircraft over Ukraine in 2014, which killed all of the roughly 300 persons on board, was attributed to Russia by the United Nations Aviation Council on Monday. According to separate declarations from the governments of the Netherlands and Australia, this total comprised 196 Dutch and 28 Australian nationals. Australia and the Netherlands initiated the case in 2022.
What was said by the United Nations agency on the downing of MH17?
The International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Council declared the allegations to be “well founded in fact and in law.”
“The Russian Federation failed to uphold its obligations under international air law in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17,”
the agency stated in a statement.
Despite having no regulatory authority, the council nevertheless establishes international aviation standards that are largely adhered to by its member nations. According to the ICAO, Monday’s decision marked the organization’s first time ever weighing in on a dispute involving two member governments.
In a statement, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp stated, “The decision is an important step toward establishing the truth and achieving justice and accountability for all victims of Flight MH17, and their families and loved ones.” “This decision also sends a clear message to the international community: states cannot violate international law with impunity.”
Penny Wong, the foreign minister of Australia, praised the ruling as well.
“We call upon Russia to finally face up to its responsibility for this horrific act of violence and make reparations for its egregious conduct, as required under international law,”
she stated.
According to Veldkamp, the Netherlands and Australia want the ICAO Council to mandate that Russia start negotiations on potential damages.
How did Russia respond?
The ICEO’s findings were dismissed by Moscow as “biased.” “Russia was not a country that participated in the investigation of the incident,” Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for state media, stated. “Therefore we do not accept all these biased conclusions.” Russia has denied culpability for the MH17 accident on several occasions.
In what circumstances did Flight MH17 disappear?
On July 17, 2014, Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 took out from Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur before being shot down over eastern Ukraine. This occurred at a period of intense conflict between Ukrainian soldiers and insurgents supported by Russia. A Russian-made BUK surface-to-air missile struck the aircraft.
All 298 people on board, including the crew, perished. The Dutch made up two-thirds, followed by thirty Malaysians and 38 Australians. A Dutch court found two Russian men and a Ukrainian guy guilty of murder in absentia for their involvement in the attack eight years after it happened. Refusing to extradite its people, Moscow has referred to the decision as “scandalous.”
