Case of genocide in The Hague: Ukraine asks to reject Russia's argument about lack of jurisdiction
Ukrainian representatives have called for Russia's objections to be rejected and for Ukraine's claim to be considered in full at the hearings at the International Court of Justice of the United Nations on the dispute regarding the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.
Source: Harold Hongju Koh, the representative of Ukraine, at court, as European Pravda reported, referring to Reuters
Details: The lawyer urged the judges of the UN International Court of Justice to immediately reject Russia's preliminary objections and schedule a hearing on the merits.
Hongju Koh explained that the court should reject Russia's claim that the court allegedly lacks jurisdiction to consider the dispute. Moscow argues that the central issue of the lawsuit is not genocide but the use of force, over which the court in The Hague has no jurisdiction.
"Can a powerful state falsely accuse its neighbour of genocide, then use illegal force to kill its citizens, devastate their homeland and destabilise the world order under the pretext of preventing and punishing genocide?" is how Koh formulated the question to the UN International Court of Justice.
Background:
On 26 February 2022, on the third day of the Russian Federation's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv filed a lawsuit against Russia under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide in The Hague.
Ukraine is asking the court to hold Russia accountable for distorting the concept of genocide, which it used to justify its full-scale aggression by talking about the "genocide in Donbas".
In March 2022, the UN International Court of Justice ordered Russia to stop a full-scale invasion as a precautionary measure, but Moscow ignored it.
On Wednesday, the last preparatory hearing took place, at which Ukraine and Russia, as well as 32 states that supported the Ukrainian lawsuit, expressed their positions. Next, the court must determine whether it has jurisdiction to hear the case.
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