The UN Court will continue to consider Ukraine’s claim against the Russian Federation for genocide

The International Court of Justice, having partially rejected the Russian Federation’s objections to Ukraine’s claim of violation by the Russian state of the Convention on the Prohibition of Genocide, will continue to work with a smaller volume of Ukrainian charges.

How reports “European Truth”, Joan Donoghue, President of the International Court of Justice, announced that Ukraine’s claim against Russia has partially passed the jurisdictional stage and is moving to the stage of consideration on the merits.

The case was initiated by Kiev in February 2022. He accused the Russian Federation of groundlessly using accusations of the alleged “genocide of the peoples of Donbass” in order to justify its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv’s position was based on numerous public statements by Putin and other Russian leaders since 2014, and especially in February 2022, about alleged “genocide” on the part of Ukraine.

The President of the International Court of Justice announced the rejection of five of the six objections raised by the Russian Federation and the partial rejection of the sixth objection.

Russia tried to prove that there is, in fact, no dispute at all between Ukraine and Russia; that Ukraine committed genocide and cannot sue; that Ukraine is changing its position, abusing its rights, etc. These statements were found to be unfounded. Joan Donoghue stated:

“It is clear: Russia knew that Ukraine denied the accusations against it (of committing the so-called “genocide” in Donbass).”

However, at the request of the Russian Federation, the court refused to consider Ukrainian claims about the illegality of recognition of the “LPR” https://rua.gr/ “DPR” and the start of the war on the basis of false accusations of genocide, because, according to the court, they do not relate to the Genocide Convention .

Ukraine’s claim that the Russian Federation has groundlessly accused Ukraine of a non-existent genocide, which may directly violate the Genocide Convention, is being considered on the merits. This will likely force the Ukrainian legal team to also adjust the claim because the main claims were based on points that the court will not consider.

It is worth emphasizing that this decision is not a decision on the merits, but opens the way for further consideration. The International Court issued it two days after the decision on the merits on another matterwhere most of Ukraine’s demands were rejected, although Russia was recognized as a violator of international law.

We are talking about charges of discrimination in Crimea, where the court found a violation only for education in the Ukrainian language and for Ukraine’s accusations against the Russian Federation for financing terrorism.

As the BBC notes, the Genocide Convention of 1948 defines what exactly can be considered genocide and establishes the obligation of its member states to prevent such crimes and punish their perpetrators. Russia tried to prove that, from a legal point of view, the UN court does not have jurisdiction to consider Ukraine’s claim, which was supported by 32 states.

“The purpose of the special operation is to protect people who have been subjected to abuse and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years,” – this is how President Vladimir Putin justified the start of the war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022. It was his words that formed the basis of this legal dispute.

In March 2022, as part of the consideration of this claim, the UN court ordered Russia to suspend military actions on the territory of Ukraine as interim measures. This decision remained without consequences.

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