The United Nations (UN) Aviation Council yesterday found that Russia was responsible for the downing of a Malaysian commercial airliner over Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers and crew.
The Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) said in a statement that Russia "failed to fulfill its obligations under international air law" in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on July 17, 2014.
The council agreed that the claims submitted to ICAO by Australia and the Netherlands over the downing of a passenger plane were "well-founded in fact and law".
ICAO added that this was the first time in its history that the council had ruled on a key aspect of a dispute between member states.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down by a surface-to-air missile over eastern Ukraine as fighting raged between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces. Among the dead were 196 Dutch citizens and 38 Australian citizens or residents.
Dutch judges convicted two Russians and a Ukrainian in absentia of murder for their role in the downing of the plane in November 2022. Moscow called the verdict "scandalous" and said it would not extradite its citizens.
Dutch Foreign Minister Kaspar Veldkamp said the ICAO Council vote was "an important step towards establishing the truth and achieving justice and accountability for all victims of flight MH17, and their families and loved ones."
The decision also sends a clear message to the international community that states cannot violate international law with impunity, Veldkamp said in a statement from the Dutch government.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her government welcomed the decision, calling it "a historic moment in the search for truth, justice and accountability for victims" and urged ICAO to take swift action to determine remedies.
"In reaching its decision, the ICAO Council supported the fundamental principle that weapons should not be used against civilian aircraft," she said in a statement.
"We call on Russia to finally face its responsibility for this horrific act of violence and make reparations for its egregious behavior, as required by international law," Wong said.
The Montreal-based ICAO will decide on the type of reparation in the coming weeks, the Dutch government said in a statement.
The Netherlands and Australia want the ICAO Council to order Russia to enter into reparations negotiations, Veldkamp said.
The ICAO is a UN body with 193 member states that decides whether countries have violated the Convention on International Civil Aviation, which requires member states to "refrain from the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight."
A large majority of the council voted in favor of the Dutch and Australian positions in a decision made on May 12, the Dutch government said in a statement, but it did not release details of the vote.
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