U.N.'s Top Court Says it Has Jurisdiction in Part of Ukraine's Genocide Case Against Russia
The United Nations’ top court said Friday it has jurisdiction to rule on a request by Ukraine for a declaration that Kyiv is not responsible for genocide, but not on other aspects of a Ukrainian case against Russia.
Transcript
00:00 The Court concludes that on the date of the application, a dispute existed between the
00:05 parties on the question whether the acts of genocide attributable to Ukraine had been
00:11 committed in the Donbass region and on the lawfulness of the Russian Federation's actions
00:16 allegedly undertaken on the basis of such an accusation.
00:21 The Russian Federation's first preliminary objection must therefore be rejected.
00:26 The armed conflict between the applicant and the respondent continues to this day.
00:30 A judgment of the Court regarding Submission B will clarify the rights and obligations
00:35 of the parties under the Genocide Convention, in particular, whether Ukraine acted in accordance
00:41 with its obligations under Article I of the Convention.
00:45 The Court is mindful of its responsibilities in the maintenance of international peace
00:49 and security, as well as in the peaceful settlement of disputes under the Charter of the United
00:54 Nations and the Statute of the Court.
00:57 It follows from the foregoing that Submissions C and D in paragraph 178 of Ukraine's memorial
01:03 do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Court and that the Court may not deal with
01:08 them on the merits, while Submission B in paragraph 178 of Ukraine's memorial does fall
01:14 within the jurisdiction of the Court and the claim contained therein is admissible.
01:19 By 15 votes to 1, finds that it has jurisdiction on the basis of Article IX of the Convention
01:25 on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide to entertain Submission B in paragraph
01:32 178 of the memorial of Ukraine.
01:34 Today is another important day in the International Court of Justice.
01:39 Today the Court announced its decision that it has jurisdiction to proceed to the merits
01:44 stage in the case Ukraine versus the Russian Federation on the allegations of genocide.
01:51 It is important that the Court will decide on the issue that Ukraine is not responsible
01:57 for some mythical genocide which the Russian Federation falsely alleged that Ukraine has
02:05 committed - has been committing since 2014 in Donbass, and that also it is important
02:10 for us that the order on provisional measures of 16th of March 2022 remains in force as
02:18 the case proceeds to the merits stage.
02:20 And so it means that the obligation of the Russian Federation to immediately suspend
02:25 all the military activities in the territory of Ukraine is there and it is a legal obligation
02:30 which the Russian Federation must fulfill.