MH17: International Tribunal Most Effective Solution, Says Ukrainian Envoy

By Nabilah Saleh, Nur Ashikin Abdul Aziz and Noor Farhana Ahmad Norain KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 (Bernama) -- An ad hoc criminal international tribunal to try those responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines MH17 would be the most simple and effective solution to bring the perpetrators to justice. Ukraine ambassador to Malaysia, Ihor V. Humennyi said this was important as there was a need to move forward after the Dutch-led team completed its investigation this October. "The UNSC resolution adopted last year on the incident did not give the instrument for the chance of bringing the criminals to court. "Practically, the solution is to convene an international court to give a better chance and possibility for the victims to restore justice and to bring the culprits to court," he told Bernama in an interview held at the news agency's headquarters, here, Thursday. Malaysia introduced a draft resolution before the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), calling for the establishment of an ad hoc international criminal tribunal, a move fully supported by the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium and Ukraine. The draft resolution, however, failed to be adopted due to a veto from Russia, despite obtaining 11 votes of support from Chad, Chile, France, Jordan, Lithuania, Nigeria, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the US. China, Venezuela and Angola abstained from voting. If one of the Council's five permanent members casts a negative vote on a resolution, the text cannot be adopted. Apart from Russia, the other permanent members of the UNSC are the US, the United Kingdom, China and France. Malaysia, Angola, New Zealand, Spain and Venezuela were elected to the UNSC as non-permanent members in October, last year. Humennyi said that as an independent body, such a tribunal could avoid political pressure from any country, thus ensuring a fair result for all affected by the tragedy. He highlighted that previously two tribunals were created to try individuals accused of war crimes or crimes against humanity, namely the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Humennyi asserted that Ukraine would continue to support Malaysia to pursue accountability for the perpetrators and to ensure justice for all the innocent victims on board MH17. On the latest development at the crash site, Humennyi said the situation was improving compared to a year ago with better cooperation from the locals. All 298 passengers and crew on board Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur died when the aircraft was shot down over Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on July 17, last year. --BERNAMA