The UN Court Rules in Favor of Ukraine in Genocide Lawsuit Against Russia
The International Court of Justice of the United Nations in The Hague recognized its jurisdiction in the case of Ukraine against Russia regarding genocide. This was announced by the president of the court, Joan Donoghue, European Truth reported on Friday, February 2.
This case was initiated by Ukraine in February 2022. Kyiv then accused Moscow of baselessly using accusations of the alleged “genocide of the peoples of Donbas” to justify its illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine’s position was based on numerous statements by Vladimir Putin and other leaders of the Russian Federation, who since 2014, and especially in February 2022, made public statements about alleged “genocide” on the part of Ukraine.
Today, Joan Donoghue announced the rejection of five of the six objections raised by the Russian Federation, and the partial rejection of the sixth objection.
At the same time, the court refused to consider the Ukrainian claims regarding the illegality of the recognition of the so-called “LPR” and “DPR” and the start of the war based on false accusations of genocide, because, in the court’s opinion, they do not relate to the Genocide Convention.
“Only Ukraine’s claim that Russia unjustifiably accused Ukraine of a non-existent genocide, which may directly violate the Genocide Convention, is being considered. This will probably force the Ukrainian legal team to also adjust the claim position, because the main demands were based on points that the court will not consider,” the publication writes.
It is noted that this is not a decision on the merits, but opens the way for further consideration.
The UN court: why Ukraine still won
It will be recalled that on January 31, the UN court recognized Russia as a violator of international law due to violations of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Financing of Terrorism and the Convention on the Prohibition of Racial Discrimination. Correspondent understood the nuances.
On January 16, 2017, Ukraine filed a lawsuit against Russia for violating the Convention on the Prohibition of the Financing of Terrorism and the Convention on the Prohibition of Racial Discrimination. The charges related to episodes from 2015-2017. The Russian Federation denied everything.
According to each of the conventions, a violation by Russia was established. Therefore, for the first time in history, the International Court of Justice of the United Nations recognized the Russian Federation as a violator of international law.
However, the court only partially satisfied Ukraine’s claim and dismissed most of the charges against Russia. The UN decided that the Russian Federation had no reasonable grounds to suspect that the funds provided by it are used or may be used for the purpose of financing terrorism.
By a majority of votes, the International Court rejected all other submissions submitted by Ukraine regarding the International Convention on Combating the Financing of Terrorism.
Announcing the decision, the head of the UN International Court of Justice, Donohoe, emphasized that the situation in Ukraine “today is very different” from what it was when Ukraine submitted its application in January 2017.
Regarding Russia’s alleged violation of the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Court found that Russia failed to protect the rights of ethnic Ukrainians in Crimea, where the number of students studying Ukrainian has dropped sharply.
By ten votes to five, the UN International Court of Justice rejected all other submissions of Ukraine regarding the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
In addition, the judges refused to make a specific decision regarding Russia’s alleged responsibility for the downing of the MH17 flight over the Donetsk region. Also, the court did not satisfy Ukraine’s demand for compensation from the Russian Federation.
“In its decision, the court took into account only what was beyond doubt. Therefore, Ukraine should admit that it is necessary to more carefully prepare all possible evidence in order to prove Russia’s guilt. The vote demonstrated that not everything that seems obvious and well-founded to us is perceived unambiguously by foreigners. The Russians are working hard to refute the allegations. And we need to prepare for this”, – emphasizes the executive director of the UGSPL Oleksandr Pavlichenko in a comment on the website of the Union.
Human rights activists call the decision of the UN International Court of Justice a small victory. The decision of the UN International Court of Justice is legal, but will have political consequences.
The hands of the Russians in Crimea were untied
Lana Zerkal, a Ukrainian diplomat and adviser to the Minister of Energy of Ukraine, comments on the decision of the UN court to the Glavcomma:
“The court limited itself to the minimum decision possible for itself. This is not just a conservative approach. This is an approach that raises serious questions about the further application of international law in modern conditions.”
Zerkal criticized the position of the judges, according to which the supply of arms is not covered by the Convention on the Prohibition of the Financing of Terrorism.
“Any country can send a Buk and a truckload of cash and legally it can’t be classified as terrorist financing? Because there is no receipt and bank account?”, she asked.
In addition, the minister’s adviser drew attention to the prosecution of the country, which is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
“The status and rights of a permanent member of the UN Security Council give him the opportunity to violate all norms of international law with impunity, manipulate facts and cynically lie to the world, spreading his dirty propaganda,” she emphasized.
Refat Chubarov, head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, is more categorical in his assessments. On February 2, on the air of the telethon Edyni novynyi, he noted that the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people were disappointed with the decision of the UN International Court of Justice. There, they believe that after that, Russia will increase repression against the Crimean Tatars in the occupied Crimea in order to displace the indigenous people from the peninsula.
“The court recognizes all the facts cited by the Ukrainian state regarding the violation of the rights of the Crimean Tatar people, including, due to the prohibition of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, regarding the violation of the rights of ethnic Ukrainians in Crimea, but the court interprets that these violations are related to the political activities of those Crimean Tatars, but not caused by their ethnic identity,” says Chubarov.
The head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people predicted what the decision of the UN court would lead to.
“Russia will take this as an indulgence for intensifying repression and persecution of the Crimean Tatars and the entire Crimean Tatar people. They will squeeze the indigenous people from the peninsula even more,” says Chubarov.
Chubarov noted that Russian diplomats have already stepped up: on February 1, Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN Maria Zabolotska already demanded an apology from Ukraine to the international community for “slandering” Russia.
The chairman of the Mejlis predicts that the Russians will try to use the decision of the UN court on other international platforms. He believes that with this decision they will try to challenge previous resolutions of the UN General Assembly.
All is not lost
Lana Zerkal noted that there are positive points in the decision of the UN International Court of Justice. She called the “main positive” the fact that a violation by the Russian Federation was established for each of the conventions, despite the objections of the Russians, and now all the materials of the case will be available to the general public.
Anton Korynevych, Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, emphasized that the decision of the International Court of Justice of the United Nations is a victory, because under each of the two conventions a violation by Russia was established.
“The Ukrainian side, of course, stated the maximum number of demands. We always do this, that is, we always demand the maximum responsibility of the Russian Federation, so there were many demands. Of course, we understand that the court evaluated all the facts, evidence, etc. It is important for us that the court recognized the Russian Federation’s violation of both conventions. This is a very important, fundamental matter, because Ukraine filed a lawsuit for non-compliance with two conventions, and the International Court of Justice of the United Nations established a violation of both. This is a very important step forward, because until now we have not had any legally binding decision of an international judicial body that the Russian Federation is a violator of international law. We now have the first decision, and we are confident that it will be a cornerstone for moving forward in other cases, in other courts, in other jurisdictions, and in this court as well. All this lays a very good foundation,” the Ukrinform site quotes Korynevich as saying.
He also emphasized that for the first time in history, the UN International Court of Justice recognized the Russian Federation as a violator of international law, not only in political statements and assertions on various political platforms, but also in a legally binding decision of the UN International Court of Justice.
“Never before has the Russian Federation been recognized as a violator of international law by this court,” Korynevich emphasized.