Belgium supports the procedure launched by the Netherlands and Australia against Russia at the ICAO in the context of the destruction of the flight MH17

The Netherlands and Australia have initiated a dispute settlement procedure against Russia in the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in the context of the destruction of flight MH17 on 17 July 2014. This procedure was introduced pursuant to Article 84 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation ("Chicago Convention"), which provides that in the event of a disagreement between two or more States Parties concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention, the Council shall decide at the request of any State involved in the disagreement. The Chicago Convention provides that each State must refrain from the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight.

Belgium welcomes and supports the initiative of the Netherlands and Australia and hopes that this initiative can contribute constructively to the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 2166 (2014). In this resolution, the Security Council demands that those responsible for the incident be held accountable and that all states fully associate themselves with the efforts to establish responsibility.

In this regard, Belgium also reiterates its support for the trial currently underway before the Dutch criminal courts.

Together with the other countries that are part of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) established in the aftermath of the tragedy, Belgium will continue its efforts to shed light on all the facts, so that justice can be rendered in an independent, honest and transparent manner to the victims and their families.