Application of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
(Ukraine v. Russian Federation)
Hearing on the Merits
Oral Pleadings of Ukraine
12 June 2023
Concluding Statement and Final Submissions
Madam President, distinguished Members of the Court, I am honoured to conclude Ukraine’s oral pleadings and make Ukraine’s final submissions.
The Russian Federation’s Agent brazenly stated in his opening remarks that “Russia has great respect for the International Court of Justice.” But those are empty words coming from the representative of a State that continues to ignore two separate provisional measures orders issued by this Court in proceedings brought by Ukraine. Nor has Russia displayed any respect with the false picture it has presented to the Court over the last week of this hearing.
As to Ukraine’s claims under the CERD, the image Russia has tried to convey of multi-ethnic harmony in Crimea is no more than a Potemkin village — a façade constructed to make things look better than they really are.
In this false, idealized version of today’s Crimea, Crimean Tatars and members of the Ukrainian community may freely hold cultural gatherings throughout the peninsula; their children have full access to education in Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian languages; their journalists and media can freely condemn the Russian occupation and not be killed, tortured or arrested; their cultural heritage is promoted and protected; and their rights to life and security of the person are respected.
But the facts expose Russia’s Potemkin village as the sham it is: Far from promoting a multi-ethnic society, Russia has imposed a state of fear and intimidation for Crimean Tatars and ethnic Ukrainians in Crimea, subjecting them to disappearances, kidnapping and torture. It has banned the central Crimean Tatar representative institution, the Mejlis, in addition to exiling and persecuting much of its leadership. Russia has also subjected Crimean Tatars to arbitrary searches and detentions in their homes and meeting places, shattering their sense of security in their homeland.
Russia has also erased the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian language from Crimea’s schools, blocked cultural gatherings meaningful to these communities, silenced their media and journalists, and degraded their cultural heritage, in an attempt to uproot their identity from the Crimean peninsula.
Russia’s façade of equality cannot hide the dire reality: Russia has imposed a regime of racial discrimination in Crimea, in violation of the CERD.
Russia also paints a false reality under the ICSFT. Russia, for example, would have this Court believe that a Russian military brigade did not send a Buk-TELAR into Ukraine; that this Buk-TELAR did not shoot down MH17; and that the DPR members who shot down Flight MH17 did nothing unlawful. But Russia cannot hide from the facts, from the independent investigations, and from the other courts who have rejected its fake conspiracy theories. Confronted with these facts, Russia’s Potemkin village is exposed for what it is: a false reality built on baseless propaganda.
I urge the Court to bear in mind the sources and quality of Russia’s evidence as it considers Russia’s explanations of other issues, like why bombs landed on residential areas or exploded at peace rallies.
Russia would have this Court believe that “the civilian casualties that occurred were largely caused by Ukraine’s own conduct.” In Russia’s false reality, it was Ukraine’s fault that a bus full of pensioners was destroyed, killing 12 passengers and injuring 19 others, when the DPR fired BM-21 Grads at a vehicle inspection point more than 10 km behind the contact line; it was Ukraine’s fault thirty civilians were killed and 118 more were injured when the DPR launched 150 rockets into a residential district in Mariupol; it was Ukraine’s fault when BM-30 Smerch cluster munitions rained down on a neighborhood in Kramatorsk more than 50 kilometers from the contact line; and it was Ukraine’s fault that civilians in Kharkiv were blown up for the crime of holding a rally. Russia’s attempt to shift blame to Ukraine for these civilian deaths is clearly at odds with reality: Russian officials knowingly funded these terrorist acts.
On Thursday, Russia showed you a lot of graphics related to the number of civilian casualties in Donbas starting from 2014. Russia didn’t mention that the DPR has been condemned for firing from residential neighborhoods. [1] More importantly, Russia didn’t show you any graphic about the quantity of civilian casualties from shelling, bombing, and similar activities in Ukraine prior to 2014. Because there were none. Simply zero. Until Russian weapons started to fuel terror and conflict in Donbas.
Finally, we are shocked that the Agent of the Russian Federation would stand before the World Court and accuse Ukraine of intentionally destroying the Nova Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric station in Kherson Oblast, which were under the control of the Russian Armed Forces. Why would Ukraine flood its land, force tens of thousands of Ukrainians to leave their homes, and cause environmental havoc in its own territory, the greatest since the Chornobyl disaster back in 1986? This is absurd.
Russia’s false accusation only underscores how far Russia will go to hide, legitimize, or justify its lawless conduct. Russia will not hesitate to fabricate lies, distort legal principles, or engage in information warfare to defend actions that are indefensible.
On 7 March 2017, during the public hearings in this case, the Russian Agent stated that “the primary source of weapons and ammunition to the military of the DPR and the LPR are stockpiles . . . deposited in the old mines of Donbass.” Nonsense. Just a few days ago, Russian counsel on this very podium stated that “The Dutch Safety Board, the Joint Investigation Team, police in the Netherlands” have failed to prove the case on the downing of MH17. Equally absurd. Another Russian counsel stated that “Russia did something.” An understatement, indeed. Russia has done a lot to build a wall of lies around the supply of weapons to Donbas. Russia has also done a lot to build Potemkin villages in occupied Crimea.
Who does Russia think it is to tell us who is a “good” Crimean Tatar, and who is extremist; who is a “good” Ukrainian, and who is a neo-Nazi? And picture it with its own Russian citizen Aleksei “Tottenkopf” Maksimov, permanent resident of Saint-Petersburg, who is banned from entering Ukraine since 2013. Why is Russia even coming up with these excuses? Because Russia knows that international law matters.
Ukraine has shown in its written and oral pleadings that Russia’s false reality collapses when confronted with the overwhelming evidence of Russia’s violations of the CERD and ICSFT. The Court has all the facts it needs to see through the Potemkin village Russia has erected and hold Russia accountable for its serious violations of these treaties.
The Court should act now to provide accountability for the past, and protection for the future. While parts of our country are under Russian occupation, our people face discrimination every day. And once our territorial integrity is restored, any future relations must be based on Russia respecting international law, not allowing and promoting the financing of terrorism in Ukraine.
Madam President, Members of the Court, I stand before the World Court to request protection of the basic human rights of Ukrainian people. We seek justice and accountability under international law.
On the basis of the facts and legal arguments presented in its written and oral pleadings, Ukraine respectfully requests the Court to adjudge and declare:
ICSFT
The Russian Federation is responsible for violations of Article 18 of the ICSFT by failing to cooperate in the prevention of the terrorism financing offenses set forth in Article 2 by taking all practicable measures to prevent and counter preparations in its territory for the commission of those offenses within or outside its territory. Specifically, the Russian Federation has violated Article 18 by failing to take the practicable measures of: (i) preventing Russian state officials and agents from financing terrorism in Ukraine; (ii) discouraging public and private actors and other non-governmental third parties from financing terrorism in Ukraine; (iii) policing its border with Ukraine to stop the financing of terrorism; and (iv) monitoring and suspending banking activity and other fundraising activities undertaken by private and public actors on its territory to finance terrorism in Ukraine.
The Russian Federation is responsible for violations of Article 8 of the ICSFT by failing to identify and detect funds used or allocated for the purposes of financing terrorism in Ukraine, and by failing to freeze or seize funds used or allocated for the purpose of financing terrorism in Ukraine.
The Russian Federation has violated Articles 9 and 10 of the ICSFT by failing to investigate the facts concerning persons who have committed or are alleged to have committed terrorism financing in Ukraine, and to extradite or prosecute alleged offenders.
The Russian Federation has violated Article 12 of the ICSFT by failing to provide Ukraine the greatest measure of assistance in connection with criminal investigations in respect of terrorism financing offenses.
As a consequence of the Russian Federation’s violations of the ICSFT, illegal armed groups in Ukraine have been provided with funds that enabled them to commit numerous acts of terrorism, including the shootdown of Flight MH17, the shelling of Volnovakha, Mariupol, Kramatorsk, and Avdiivka, the bombings of the Kharkiv unity march and Stena Rock Club, the attempted assassination of a Ukrainian member of Parliament, and others.
CERD
The Russian Federation has violated CERD Article 2 by engaging in numerous and pervasive acts of racial discrimination against the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian communities in Crimea and by engaging in a policy and practice of racial discrimination against those communities.
The Russian Federation has further violated CERD Article 2 by sponsoring, defending or supporting racial discrimination by other persons or organizations against the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian communities in Crimea.
The Russian Federation has violated CERD Article 4 by promoting and inciting racial discrimination against the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian communities in Crimea.
The Russian Federation has violated CERD Article 5 by failing to guarantee the right of members of the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian communities to equality before the law, notably in their enjoyment of (i) the right to equal treatment before the tribunals and all other organs administering justice; (ii) the right to security of person and protection by the State against violence or bodily harm, whether inflicted by government officials or by any individual group or institution; (iii) political rights; (iv) other civil rights; and (v) economic, social and cultural rights.
The Russian Federation has violated CERD Article 6 by failing to assure the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian communities in Crimea effective protection and remedies against acts of racial discrimination.
The Russian Federation has violated CERD Article 7 by failing to adopt immediate and effective measures in the fields of teaching, education, culture and information, with a view to combating prejudices which lead to racial discrimination against the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian communities in Crimea.
Provisional Measures Order
The Russian Federation has breached its obligations under the Order indicating provisional measures issued by the Court on 19 April 2017 by maintaining limitations on the ability of the Crimean Tatar community to conserve its representative institutions, including the Mejlis.
The Russian Federation has breached its obligations under the Order indicating provisional measures issued by the Court on 19 April 2017 by failing to ensure the availability of education in the Ukrainian language.
The Russian Federation has breached its obligations under the Order indicating provisional measures issued by the Court on 19 April 2017 by aggravating and extending the dispute and making it more difficult to resolve by recognizing the independence and sovereignty of the so-called DPR and LPR and engaging in acts of racial discrimination in the course of its renewed aggression against Ukraine.
The aforementioned acts constitute violations of the ICSFT, the CERD, and the Court’s order on provisional measures, and are therefore internationally wrongful acts for which the Russian Federation bears international responsibility. The Russian Federation is therefore required to:
ICSFT
Cease immediately each of the above violations of ICSFT Articles 8, 9, 10, 12, and 18 and provide Ukraine with appropriate guarantees and public assurances that it will refrain from such actions in the future.
Take all practicable measures to prevent the commission of terrorism financing offenses in Ukraine, including in the oblasts purportedly annexed by the Russian Federation on September 30, including in particular (i) ensuring that Russian state officials or any other person under its jurisdiction do not provide weapons or other funds to groups engaged in terrorism in Ukraine; (ii) cease encouraging public and private actors and other nongovernmental third parties to finance terrorism in Ukraine; (iii) police Russia’s border with Ukraine to stop any supply of weapons into Ukraine; and (iv) monitor and prohibit private and public transactions originating in Russian territory, or initiated by Russian nationals, that finance terrorism in Ukraine, including by enforcing banking restrictions to block transactions for the benefit of groups engaged in terrorism in Ukraine.
Freeze or seize assets of persons suspected of supplying funds to groups engaged in terrorism in Ukraine, and cause the forfeiture of assets of persons found to have supplied funds to such groups.
Provide the greatest measure of assistance to Ukraine in connection with criminal investigations of suspected financers of terrorism.
Pay Ukraine financial compensation, in its own right and as parens patriae for its citizens, for the harm Ukraine has suffered as a result of Russia’s violations of the ICSFT, including the harm suffered by its nationals injured by acts of terrorism that occurred as a consequence of the Russian Federation’s ICSFT violations, with such compensation to be quantified in a separate phase of these proceedings.
Pay moral damages to Ukraine in an amount deemed appropriate by the Court, reflecting the seriousness of the Russian Federation’s violations of the ICSFT, the quantum of which is to be determined in a separate phase of these proceedings.
CERD
Cease immediately each of the above violations of CERD Articles 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7, and provide Ukraine with appropriate guarantees and public assurances that it will refrain from such actions in the future.
Guarantee the right of members of the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian communities to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment of the human rights and fundamental freedoms protected by the Convention.
Assure to all residents of occupied Crimea effective protection and remedies against acts of racial discrimination.
Adopt immediate and effective measures in the fields of teaching, education, culture and information, with a view to combating prejudices which lead to racial discrimination against the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian communities in Crimea.
Pay Ukraine financial compensation and moral damages, in its own right and as parens patriae for its citizens, for the harm Ukraine has suffered as a result of Russia’s violations of the CERD, including the harm suffered by victims as a result of the Russian Federation’s violations of CERD Articles 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7, with such compensation to be quantified in a separate phase of these proceedings.
Provisional Measures Order
Provide full reparation for the harm caused for its actions, including restitution, financial compensation and moral damages, in its own right and as parens patriae for its citizens, for the harm Ukraine has suffered as a result of Russia’s violations of the Court’s Order of 19 April 2017, with such compensation to be quantified in a separate phase of these proceedings.
This concludes Ukraine’s submissions.
As our Agent recalled, when “the World took half-measures, [it] led to half-peace which led to a total war.” The Court must therefore grant Ukraine a full measure of justice. Given the circumstances, where Russia terrorizes the Ukrainian people and targets Ukraine’s identity — thus rendering negotiations impossible, Ukraine respectfully requests that the Court fix in its judgment the dates for the filing by the Parties of written submissions regarding the reparation due to Ukraine.
On behalf of Ukraine, allow me to thank the Registry for its assistance; I thank the interpreters and the Court’s staff for their services during these proceedings; and finally, Madam President, Members of the Court, I thank you for your attention in this important matter.
We are in your hands.
[1] Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Report on the Human Rights Situation in Ukraine (15 July 2014), para. 31.