Russian Federation has again been accused of deliberately thwarting efforts to investigate the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 to disguise its own culpability, after blocking a United Nations resolution that would have established a tribunal to prosecute those responsible.
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“We believe that a tribunal with the backing of the UN security council is mot likely to be able to deliver justice and we don’t want it politicised”.
The Dutch, along with Malaysia, Australia and most Western countries, are pushing for the tribunal, which they say would have the authority to investigate impartially and demand the extradition of suspects, whichever country might be harbouring them.
Churkin noted that Russian Federation had repeatedly said that it wouldn’t support the tribunal “due to the fact the UNSC resolution 2166 [of 2014] didn’t qualify the Boeing tragedy as a threat to global peace and security”.
She said Australia, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Belgium and Ukraine would now seek an alternative prosecution mechanism.
“Malaysia did include some language from our draft in their draft text but it did not go to the core of our concern, they kept insisting on the need to establish right now an global criminal court”, Russian United Nations Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told Reuters on Friday.
“The question is, ‘Why does the UN see the need to take over something that is already being handled through other channels?’ And the only reason that I can think of is that the real reason is political,” he said.
“Let us not forget: British people died on this flight”.
Eleven nations on the 15-member council are in favour of the tribunal.
Malaysian transport minister, Liow Tiong Lai, told the council members that Russia’s veto sends a “dangerous message of impunity to the perpetrator of this heinous crime.”
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who had spent the previous 24 hours at the UN headquarters in a bid to shore up support for the resolution, said it was “inconceivable that the Security Council would now walk away from holding to account those who brought down a commercial aeroplane”. The Dutch Safety Board’s final report is expected in October 2015.
Russian Federation and the rebels deny any responsibility and point the finger at Ukraine’s military.
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A separate inquiry by the Dutch national prosecutor’s office aims to decide who is responsible.
