MONTREAL: The United Nations aviation council on Friday voted to hear a case against Russia over the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, the foreign ministers of Australia and the Netherlands said.

Australia and the Netherlands initiated the action over MH17 last year at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The passenger jet was struck over rebel-held eastern Ukraine by what international investigators and prosecutors say was a Russian-made surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people on board.

The ICAO upheld its jurisdiction to hear the matter during a session on Friday, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a written statement. “This decision is an important step in our collective efforts to hold to account those responsible for this horrific act of violence,” Wong said.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2023