UN International Court Allows 32 Countries To Join Ukraine's Lawsuit Against Russia

The International Court of Justice in The Hague has accepted requests from 32 countries to support Ukraine's lawsuit against the terrorist state of Russia in violation of the Genocide Convention. This is stated in the official statement of the Court.

The lawsuit was joined by 26 EU member states, but for Hungary, as well as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Liechtenstein and the United Kingdom. By July 5, these countries must confirm entry into the process and submit their position in the case. At the same time, the United States refused to participate in the hearings at the stage of preliminary consideration of the objections of the parties.

Ukraine filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice days after the war began in February 2022. It said that Russia violated the 1948 Convention by falsely accusing Ukraine of genocide in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions and using it as a pretext for invasion. Kyiv demanded that Moscow be held accountable for manipulating the concept of “genocide” and call on it to stop the hostilities.

The court sided with Ukraine. At the same time, they clarified that the ruling is a temporary measure, the purpose of which is to freeze the situation until a final decision is made on the dispute. Russia refused to participate in the process and stop hostilities - the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the UN court “lacks jurisdiction in considering the special operation.”

In May, the head of the Russian foreign ministry, Sergei Lavrov, said that Russia regards the actions of Western countries trying to enter the UN International Court of Justice on the side of Ukraine as "an attempt to openly blackmail and pressure." He also stated that the lawsuit itself was "based on twisted logic."

In July, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Kyiv again appealed to the court for Russia's violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

The International Court of Justice was established after World War II to deal with disputes between UN member states. His decisions are binding, but he does not have the means to force countries to implement them.