Representatives of 32 countries are speaking at the International Court of Justice in The Hague in support of Ukraine's position that Russia used genocide allegations as a pretext for its invasion.
Source. This was reported by the BBC.
In particular, the positions of representatives of Australia, Austria (and the Czech Republic, Liechtenstein and Slovakia, which support its position), Germany, Estonia (and seven states that have joined its position) have already been heard.
Among the main elements that determine the jurisdiction of the ICJ in this case are:
- the certain existence of a dispute; Ukraine and Russia hold diametrically opposed views on whether Ukraine committed acts of genocide on its territory;
- the fact that one side is relying on the genocide claim to justify an illegal action for which there is no other explanation;
- the fact that not only the country claiming genocide, but also the country accused of it can go to court in this regard.
Germany was one of the first to speak out. It stated that genocide laws should not be used for political purposes. According to a German representative, the record number of countries that decided to support Ukraine in this lawsuit shows that they intend to protect the integrity of international genocide law.
Background. As reported, the hearings in The Hague resumed on September 18. In this case, Ukraine is arguing that Russia justifies its military aggression by baselessly accusing Ukraine of "genocide" and thus violates the 1948 Convention.