The UN International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council ruled on Monday, the 12th of May, that Russia was responsible for the downing of a Malaysian plane over Ukraine that killed all 298 passengers and crew, including 196 Dutch citizens, 38 Australian citizens or residents and 10 British citizens, as well as Belgian and Malaysian nationals, the Dutch and Australian governments said in separate statements, according to Reuters.
Both governments said the ICAO Council would consider in the coming weeks what type of compensation would be required.
On Monday, the UN ICAO Council voted that the Russian Federation had failed to comply with its obligations under international air law, which requires states to “refrain from the use of weapons against civil aviation aircraft in flight”.
On the 17th of July 2014, Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur and was shot down over eastern Ukraine by a Russian-made missile at a time when there was fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces.
In November 2022, Dutch judges convicted in absentia two Russian men and one Ukrainian for their role in the attack. Moscow called the verdict “scandalous” and said it would not extradite its citizens. The three were sentenced to life imprisonment.
The case was opened by Australia and the Netherlands in 2022.
“This decision is an important step towards establishing the truth and achieving justice and accountability for all the victims of flight MH17, as well as their families and loved ones,” Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a statement.
“THIS DECISION ALSO SENDS A CLEAR MESSAGE TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY: COUNTRIES CANNOT VIOLATE INTERNATIONAL LAW WITH IMPUNITY.”
The Netherlands and Australia want the ICAO Council to order Russia to start negotiations on reparations, he added.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her government welcomed the decision and asked ICAO to move quickly to find a solution.
“We call on Russia to finally accept responsibility for this outrageous act of violence and make reparations for its outrageous actions, as international law demands,” Wong said in a statement.
ICAO has no regulatory powers, but it has moral influence and sets global aviation standards, which are largely adopted by its 193 member states.