Australia, Netherlands start legal action against Russia for downing of MH17
Memorial of victims of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17
Australiaand theNetherlandssaid they had begun jointlegalactionagainstRussiaat the International Civil Aviation Organisation over thedowningof Malaysia Airlines flightMH17eight years ago.
Russiawas responsible under international law for thedowningof the flight, andactionin the United Nations aviation council was a step forward in the fight for justice for 298 victims, including 38Australians,Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a statement on Monday.
Australiasaid the incident was a clear breach of a convention to protect civilian aircraft from weapons fire.
The Dutch government said in a statement the UN Security Council had also been informed of the step.
Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said in the statement: "The death of 298 civilians, including 196 Dutch, cannot and should not remain without consequences. The current events in Ukraine underscore the vital importance of this."
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The jointactionunder Article 84 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation is separate to a Dutch murder trial for four suspects over their individual criminal responsibility.
Australiasaid it was seeking full reparations fromRussiafor the injury caused, and the suspension ofRussia's voting power in the aviation council, which sets standards for civilian air travel.
While it has no regulatory power, the Montreal-based ICAO sits at the centre of a system of safety and security standards that operates across political barriers but requires an often slow-moving consensus.
"Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine and the escalation of its aggression underscores the need to continue our enduring efforts to holdRussiato account for its blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter, including threats to Ukraine’s sovereignty and airspace," Morrison and Payne said in the statement.
MH17was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014 when it was hit over rebel-held eastern Ukraine by what international investigators and prosecutors say was aRussian-made surface-to-air missile.
Moscow has always denied involvement and has promoted a range of alternative theories, which international investigators have rejected as unsupported by evidence.
A verdict in the murder trial, involving threeRussians and a Ukrainian who remain at large, is expected later this year. None of the defendants have attended the Dutch court.
Australiaand theNetherlandswould rely on evidenceMH17was shot down by aRussian surface-to-air missile system transported fromRussiato an area of eastern Ukraine under the control ofRussian-backed separatists, and it was accompanied by aRussian military crew, the statement said.
The missile system was returned toRussiashortly after thedowningofMH17, it said.
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"Russiahas to date refused to take responsibility for its clear role in this incident," Payne told reporters in Sydney on Monday.
Australiaand theNetherlandshad pursued negotiations withRussiain good faith over the incident, butRussiaunilaterally withdrew from the talks in 2020, she said.