UNITED NATIONS - Malaysia has told the United Nations Security Council that it plans to push for UN-backed criminal tribunal to prosecute those suspected of bringing down its passenger airline MH17 in eastern Ukraine last year.
The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 aircraft was shot down in July last year while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 passengers on board. It crashed over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine. “Malaysia briefed the council members this morning of their intention to present a resolution in relation to MH17,” New Zealand’s UN Ambassador Gerard van Bohemen, president of the UN Security Council for July, said. “They are seeking to find a mechanism to deal with criminal accountability in relation to the downing of the aircraft, “he said.
The proposal is a joint one by Malaysia, Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium and Ukraine. According to media reports citing diplomats, Russia has called the proposal premature and believed that the Security Council should wait for the results of other investigations first. Bohemen, the Council president, said the issue was expected to remain the subject of consultations over the month. Malaysia has yet to circulate the draft resolution, he added.