Unenforceable actions: Australia, the Netherlands and MH17

By Binoy Kampmark

March 21, 2022

Netherlands' national MH17 monument carrying the names of the victims of the downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.
Netherlands’ national MH17 monument carrying the names of the victims of the downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Wishing to capitalise on Russia’s increasingly isolated status, Australia and the Netherlands are pursuing legal action through the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) against Russia for the downing of MH17 in 2014. All three parties are members of the Chicago Convention of 1944, which created the specialised UN agency. Its key mandate is “to help States to achieve the highest possible degree of uniformity in civil aviation regulations, standards, procedures, and organization.”

On July 7, 2014, the Malaysian Airlines flight crashed, resulting in the deaths of 298 people, 38 of whom were Australian residents.

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