THE HAGUE: Europe’s top human rights court is set to rule Wednesday on Russia’s actions in the conflict in Ukraine, including human rights violations during the full-scale invasion and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.
Judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg will rule on four cases, brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia, marking the first time an international court will adjudicate Russian culpability for the wider conflict in Ukraine dating from 2014.
Any decision will be largely symbolic. The complaints were brought before the court’s governing body expelled Moscow in 2022, following the full-scale invasion.
Families of the victims of the MH17 disaster see the decision as an important milestone in their 11-year quest for justice.
“It’s a real step in understanding who was really responsible,” Thomas Schansman, who lost his 18-year-old son Quinn in the tragedy, told The Associated Press.
The Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down on July 17, 2014, using a Russian-made Buk missile fired from territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatist rebels. All 298 passengers and crew were killed, including 196 Dutch citizens.
In May, the UN’s aviation agency found Russia responsible for the disaster.
The ECHR is an important part of the Council of Europe, which is the continent’s foremost human rights institution. Russia was expelled from the council over Moscow’s invasion and war in Ukraine. However, the court can still deal with cases against Russia dating from before its expulsion.
In 2023, the judges sided with Ukraine and the Netherlands in a challenge over jurisdiction, finding there was sufficient evidence to show areas in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatist rebels were “under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation,” including providing weapons, and giving political and economic support.
Wednesday’s ruling won’t be the last from the EHCR dealing with the war. Kyiv has other cases pending against Russia and there are nearly 10,000 cases brought by individuals against the Kremlin.
The decisions in Strasbourg are separate from a criminal prosecution in the Netherlands in which two Russians and a Ukrainian rebel were convicted in absentia of multiple murders for their roles in the downing of Flight MH17.
Meanwhile, in 2022, the United Nations’ top court ordered Russia to stop military operations in Ukraine while a case is heard, a process that takes years. Russia has flouted the order by the International Court of Justice.
Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky formally approved plans to set up a new international court to prosecute senior Russian officials for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Schansman, who has also brought an individual case to the ECHR, has no plans to stop pursuing justice, more than a decade after his son’s death. “The worst thing we could to is stop fighting,” he told AP. “MH17 is not a case that will disappear for Russia.”
Europe’s top human rights court is set to rule on cases against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine
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Europe’s top human rights court is set to rule on cases against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine
- Judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg will rule on four cases, brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia
Spain to ban social media for children under 16, prime minister tells WGS
- Pedro Sanchez: Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone
- Sanchez: A space of addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation, violence. We will no longer accept that, and we will protect them from the digital Wild West
DUBAI: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Tuesday that his country will seek to ban children aged under 16 from using social media platforms.
Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Sanchez outlined a six-point plan he said would help restore the “promised land” it once was.
“Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone,” he said.
“A space of addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation, violence. We will no longer accept that, and we will protect them from the digital Wild West.”
The announcement follows a similar ban by Australia last year. French lawmakers also passed a bill last week that would ban those aged under 15 from accessing social platforms. The UK has also announced it is considering new controls.
To enforce the ban, the Spanish government will reportedly seek to order platforms to put in place stringent age verification methods. It also plans to introduce a new bill next week to hold social media executives accountable for illegal and hateful content.
Sanchez added that Spain had joined five other European countries that he labelled the “Coalition of the Digitally Willing” to coordinate and enforce cross-border regulation.
