Ukraine’s representative in UN court: Violation of law by Russia in Crimea falls under racial discrimination definition

The Ukraine’s representative at a hearing in the UN International Court of Justice said that the actions of the Russian Federation after the occupation of the Crimea violate at least five basic provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

This was reported by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine for the European Integration Olena Zerkal.

In particular, the Sterling Professor of International Law at Yale Law School, Harold Hongju Koh, who represents Ukraine’s position at a meeting of the UN International Court in The Hague, has said that the massive violations of law committed by Russia fully fall within the definition of racial discrimination set forth in Article 1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

“Russia’s actions violate at least five basic provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, in particular Articles 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Russia is massively punishing the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian communities. Russia seeks to divert the Court, incorrectly characterizing the dispute as relating not to discrimination, but to the legal status of Crimea. This is a dispute about the systematic discrimination of nations, and not about the status of a territory in accordance with the international law,” the message says.

It is also said that in the case of Georgia vs Russia, the representatives of Georgia proved the existence of a dispute under the Convention, since its claims also concerned ethnic cleansing of Russia.

“The UN International Court of Justice can and should exercise jurisdiction over a dispute between the parties regarding the interpretation or application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. And most importantly, the illegal occupation of Crimea by Russia cannot serve as an excuse for violating the Convention or helping it to avoid the Court’s jurisdiction under the Convention,” the message says.

As The Journalist reported, Zerkal told about Ukraine’s prospects in UN International Court of Justice against Russia.