The federal government has welcomed a decision by the United Nations aviation agency to hear a case brought by Australia and the Netherlands against Russia for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.
Australia and the Netherlands initiated the action over MH17 last year at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The passenger jet was struck over rebel-held eastern Ukraine in 2014 by what international investigators and prosecutors say was a Russian-made surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people on board.
Australia has said Russia was responsible under international law and that taking the matter to ICAO would be a step forward in the fight for victims who included 38 Australians.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus on Saturday welcomed the ICAO Council’s decision in Montreal to hear the case.
“This decision is an important step in our collective efforts to hold to account those responsible for this horrific act of violence which claimed the lives of 298 people, 38 of whom called Australia home,” they said in a statement.
“We have maintained since May 2018 that the Russian Federation is responsible under international law for the downing of Flight MH17.
“We now look forward to presenting our legal arguments and evidence to the ICAO Council as we continue to seek to hold Russia to account.”
Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra called the decision to hear the case “an important step towards establishing the truth, justice and accountability”.
“Together with Australia, we will continue to do everything in our power to find closure for the loved ones of the 298 victims of flight #MH17,” Hoekstra said on Twitter.
Russia has denied any involvement in the incident, and Russia’s ICAO delegation was not immediately available for comment. While the outcome at ICAO is uncertain, experts said the move may be seen as a further way to force Russia into negotiations over the incident.
The technical talks by ICAO’s 36-member governing council come as Moscow is facing mounting rebukes over aviation-related actions following its invasion of Ukraine.
In October, Russia failed to win enough votes at ICAO’s triennial assembly to keep its council seat. The council also called out Russia for the dual registration of commercial aircraft, which the body argued is at odds with parts of a key agreement that sets out core principles for global aviation.
Montreal-based ICAO lacks regulatory power but holds moral suasion and sets global aviation standards overwhelmingly adopted by its 193-member states, even as it operates across political barriers.
By Allison Lampert in Montreal, with Reuters
