13-05-2025
Russia downed MH-17 UN aviation watchdog rules
Samantha Donovan: The United Nations top aviation body has ruled that Russia was responsible for the downing of Malaysian flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014. Two hundred and ninety eight people on board were killed, including 38 Australian citizens and residents. The case was brought by Australia and the Netherlands. And in the first ruling of its type, the International Civil Aviation Organization Council found Russia violated international aviation law that requires states not use weapons against civilian aircraft in flight. Twenty five year old Australian Jack O'Brien was among those who died when MH17 was shot down. His mother, Meryn O'Brien, says the ruling is an important step in the ongoing push to hold Russia accountable.
Meryn O'Brien: It's a long game that's already gone on for years. It's going to keep on going on. I don't know what the outcome in terms of Russia's response will be, but it's another finding that's out there to, I guess, tell the world Russia did this again.
Samantha Donovan: Dr. Carrie MacDougall is an associate professor at the University of Melbourne's law school. In her time as a legal adviser at Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, she played a significant role in advising the government on legal issues relating to the downing of MH17. The International Civil Aviation Organization Council will now decide what penalties Russia should face. And I asked Dr. McDougall if there's any chance Russia will comply with any further orders.
Carrie MacDougall: I mean, Russia has, of course, a long history of failing to cooperate in relation to the range of initiatives that have been pursued to try and secure justice for the downing of flight MH17. So it does seem highly unlikely, particularly given the very difficult relations between both Australia and the Netherlands on one hand and Russia on the other. But if it does refuse to engage in negotiations, I don't think that would prevent the council ordering Russia to pay reparations. Of course, it's a separate question about whether any payment would ever be forthcoming.
Samantha Donovan: What sort of reparations could be ordered, do you think?
Carrie MacDougall: As I mentioned, this is the first determination on the merits before the ICAO council. So we don't have a good benchmark by which we might measure this. Reparations would cover something like an apology or an undertaking not to repeat this violation, but it could also involve some sort of compensation.
Samantha Donovan: But are we right in thinking it's very unlikely that Russia would ever comply with those orders?
Carrie MacDougall: I think that's a fair assessment given Russia's overt violations of international law across the board at the moment.
Samantha Donovan: Does the International Civil Aviation Organization have any power to enforce any order of reparations?
Carrie MacDougall: It could issue an order that would be binding, but there'd be very limited measures at its disposal. It has already removed Russia from membership on the council. I'm not aware of other measures that it could take in that regard.
Samantha Donovan: As a lawyer who worked on the case, does it give you satisfaction that this order has been made?
Carrie MacDougall: I will be very frank and say, look, in my personal capacity, you know, it is important, obviously, that we take measures to ensure the safety of civil aviation. I also think it's important that the international community pay very close attention to Russia's meddling and force used against Ukraine, not just from February 2022, but going back to 2014. A small part of me, though, is very conscious that of the, I guess, overwhelming investment of political and financial resources in the pursuit of justice for this case, which stands in very stark contrast to the very modest efforts to pursue justice in relation to the conflict in Ukraine more broadly, not to mention the very many other breaches of international law taking place in other conflicts around the globe.
Samantha Donovan: Tell me more about what you mean by that.
Carrie MacDougall: My main area of expertise is as an international criminal lawyer. So I spend most of my time looking at the crime of aggression, crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide. And we see in relation to the pursuit of justice for those crimes committed around the globe, a lot of rhetoric and not a lot of action. And I think in contrast, we've seen this just extraordinary effort by the Dutch and Australian governments in particular to pursue justice in relation to MH17. And I think what would be really great is if we saw the same commitment to justice in relation to any number of crimes currently being committed in Gaza. But of course, there's a large range of crimes that we can identify having been committed in Ukraine in the context of the full scale Russian invasion since 2022, as well as what we might describe as many of the forgotten conflicts in Yemen or Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Samantha Donovan: Dr. Carrie MacDougall is an associate professor at the University of Melbourne's law school.
