Ukraine sues Russia for distorting meaning of 'genocide' – ex-Dpty Prosecutor General Mamedov
Kyiv has appealed to the UN International Court of Justice over Russia's distortion of the concept of "genocide," former Deputy Prosecutor General Gunduz Mamedov has said.
"Ukraine will prove that Russia is in fact manipulating this notion to justify armed aggression against our country," Mamedov wrote in an article published by Kyiv-based Dzerkalo Tyzhnia ezine on Wednesday morning.
He said that the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which had entered into force in 1951, meant by genocide any action taken with the intention of destroying, in whole or in part, any national, ethnic, racial or religious group as such.
Russia has repeatedly tried in recent years to accuse the Ukrainian authorities of killing and injuring thousands of civilians and Russian-speaking groups, calling it "genocide" on the territory of Ukraine," he said.
At the same time, in the Russian Federation for the last eight years has called for the destruction of the Ukrainian nation as such.
"Russian propaganda TV channels create an atmosphere of hatred and hostility, they consistently and for a long time promote the image of the enemy, dehumanize Ukrainians in the eyes of their population. And thus allow and justify Russia's armed anger, war crimes and genocide," Mamedov said.
The ex-deputy prosecutor general also stressed that the official position of the Russian Federation on the interpretation of the genocide not only justifies the attack on Ukraine, but also insults the memory of the nations that really suffered from it. He said leading historians and researchers of the Holocaust condemned the rhetoric of the Russian authorities, calling such an interpretation of genocide a cynical exploitation of the term.
"The Russian side demonstrated its attitude to the memory centers by firing rockets at the Babyn Yar memorial complex in Kyiv, a place where the Nazis massacred civilians, mostly Jews," Mamedov said.
According to him, the Ukrainian side asks the UN International Court of Justice to take temporary measures to oblige Russia to stop armed aggression on the territory of Ukraine and to ensure that military and other armed units under its control cease to participate in hostilities. The Russian side boycotted these court hearings. This, however, will not affect the course of the case and its consideration by the Court.
"At the same time, it is not worth hoping that the decision of the UN International Court of Justice, whatever it may be, will stop Russian aggression. If it is adopted in favor of Ukraine, it is another tool that leads to complete political isolation of Russia, in addition to being another argument proving the absolute futility of Russia's accusations and attempts to justify aggression against Ukraine. And the question of the effectiveness of international law in preventing aggression remains open. After all, sanctions and legal decisions have not saved the center of Europe from armed aggression," he said.
