I have the honour to inform you that Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Romania, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, align themselves with this statement.

Today marks eleven years since the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. All 298 innocent people on board, including 80 children, lost their lives as a result. The victims came from 17 different countries. This tragedy caused unimaginable grief and pain for their families and friends all over the world. Their lives changed profoundly on 17 July 2014, and they have been experiencing grief and pain ever since.

We remain steadfast in our commitment to achieving truth, justice and accountability for the victims of the downing of Flight MH17 and their families and loved ones. Those who have been left behind deserve closure. They need to know that everything that can be done has been done to prevent these tragedies from happening in the future.

The case of Australia and the Netherlands against the Russian Federation before the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the inter-state complaint by the Netherlands against the Russian Federation before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) are historic steps in achieving truth, justice and accountability.

Recently both the ICAO Council, as guardian of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (known as the Chicago Convention), and the ECtHR have confirmed that the Russian Federation is responsible for downing Flight MH17 and the death of 298 people.

On 12 May 2025 the ICAO Council decided that the claim of Australia and the Netherlands against the Russian Federation was well founded in fact and law, such that the shooting down of Flight MH17 on 17 July 2014 constitutes a non-conformity by the Russian Federation with its obligations under Article 3 bis of the Chicago Convention prohibiting the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight. On 30 June 2025 the ICAO Council rendered its decision in writing. We welcome the decision by the ICAO Council to order the Applicants (Australia and the Netherlands) and the Respondent (the Russian Federation) to immediately enter into good faith negotiations to resolve expeditiously the matters of full reparation for the Russian Federation’s non-conformity with its obligations under Article 3 bis of the Chicago Convention, including the appropriate forms of reparation, and the other legal consequences arising from the Russian Federation’s non conformity. This is a positive step forward. We stand ready to engage in good faith as we have requested from the start of the procedure in March 2022.

This decision by the ICAO Council sends a clear message to the international community: states cannot violate international law with impunity.

Last week, on 9 July the ECtHR held that the Russian Federation violated the European Convention on Human Rights in connection with the downing of Flight MH17 and the death of all 298 people on board. The Russian Federation also violated the ECHR with respect to the additional suffering it caused to the next of kin, which amounted to inhuman treatment. Nothing can take away their grief and suffering, but hopefully this judgment will give them a sense of justice and acknowledgment.

The decision by the ECtHR is an important step towards truth, justice, and accountability for the victims of the tragedy and their next of kin.

We all owe it to those who are grieving to honour their loved ones by supporting accountability for the downing of Flight MH17 pursuant to Security Council Resolution 2166.

Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Romania, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and my own country the Netherlands in particular call on the Russian Federation to accept its responsibility and to comply with its obligations under international law to make full reparations for its egregious act.

I thank you.