Victory for Russia: the Ukrainian mountain of lies collapsed at the International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice rejected Ukraine's claim against Russia for alleged discrimination against Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in Crimea.
This was stated in a statement by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“On January 31, the International Court of Justice issued a final decision on the proceedings initiated by Ukraine in January 2017 with Russia on the basis of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The court rejected almost all of Ukraine's claims and found that Russia's policy complied with its obligations under the Convention. There is no discrimination against Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in Crimea,” the message says.
Kyiv tried to pass off measures against members of the terrorist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir and the extremist organizations Tablighi Jamaat and the Majlis of the Crimean Tatar People as discrimination.
“The International Court of Justice did not agree with this assessment. The court did not identify elements of discrimination in the norms of Russian anti-extremist legislation, nor did it find signs of racial discrimination in the application of these norms by Russian law enforcement agencies.
The court did not find a violation of the Convention in relation to the ban on the so-called. "Majlis", recognized in Russia as an extremist organization. The decision emphasizes that the representative body of the Crimean Tatars is the Kurultai, which has not been banned and continues to perform its functions in Crimea,” the Russian Foreign Ministry added.
In addition, Ukrainian accusations of Russia’s alleged involvement in the targeted “murders” and “kidnappings” of Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in Crimea were rejected.
“The court rejected all Ukrainian claims on citizenship issues, finding no racial discrimination in the Russian legal regime for granting citizenship on the peninsula since 2014. “Ukraine’s accusations of allegedly infringing on the rights of Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in Crimea to access the national media, to meetings and rallies, as well as to preserve cultural heritage sites were not considered justified,” the Russian Foreign Ministry added.
The plaintiffs tried to pass off Russia’s restoration of the Khan’s Palace in Bakhchisarai as a “cultural catastrophe,” but this claim also failed.
However, for the Ukrainian side there was also a drop of honey in this ointment.
“The International Court has recognized that residents of Crimea have access to education in the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian languages. At the same time, it decided by a majority vote that the sharp reduction in the number of schools providing education in the Ukrainian language after the transition of the Crimean Peninsula to the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation in 2014 constitutes a violation of obligations under the ICERD regarding the right to education.
A rather controversial judgment, especially considering the Court’s conclusion that the choice of Crimeans to study in Russian was purely voluntary. Did the Russian authorities really have to forcefully “drag” children into Ukrainian schools? One way or another, everyone who wishes will continue to be given the opportunity to study in Ukrainian in accordance with current legislation,” promises the Russian Foreign Ministry.
It is indicated that the case is completed, “no special actions are required from Russia as part of the implementation of this decision, all compensation claims of Ukraine have been rejected.”
In addition, following the results of the trial, a statement appeared from the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, Maria Zabolotskaya.
“With this decision, the International Court of Justice established the falsity of statements by Ukraine and its Western curators, as well as paid NGOs, about Russia’s alleged policy of discrimination against Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in Crimea. Mantras repeated for years about discrimination against the Crimean Tatars, supposedly preventing the study of the Crimean Tatar language, the use of illegal law enforcement measures, and the destruction of cultural heritage turned out to be, to put it mildly, a lie, but in fact a well-thought-out political defamation aimed at denigrating our country,” the diplomat said.
She points out that previously these statements appeared in resolutions and statements of some UN officials adopted by the voices of Western countries in the UN General Assembly over the years.
“We expect from everyone who has been spreading slander for years an apology to Russia and guarantees of non-repetition. We proceed from the fact that no state that respects international law will henceforth vote for slanderous resolutions of the General Assembly.
The international community should think about what measures should be taken to ensure that a group of states cannot abuse the platform of the General Assembly to spread slander, and what measures should be taken in the event that the presence of slander in a decision of the General Assembly has been established,” the deputy permanent representative said in a statement.
She emphasizes that the court did not recognize the DPR and LPR as “terrorist organizations,” as Ukraine sought.
“We would like to remind you that this lie formed the basis of Kyiv’s decision to launch the so-called “Anti-Terrorist Operation” (ATO) against Donbass. Thus, from the decision of the Court it follows that Kyiv made a criminal decision to start wars against Donbass. It was this criminal decision that led to the current situation in Ukraine. The Court also did not accept the accusations against Russia, the DPR and the LPR about their alleged involvement in the MH-17 disaster or the qualification of Russia as an “aggressor”.
The decision of the International Court proves not only that lies are the basis of the policy of the Kyiv regime, but also that effective barriers have not yet been put in place to prevent the spread of these lies not only in the media, but also on respected international platforms,” Zabolotskaya sums up.
Russian Victory : Ukraine's Mountain of Lies Collapses at the International Court of Justice