Estonia joined the case of Ukraine against Russia on genocide

Estonia submitted an application to join the genocide case, for which Ukraine is suing Russia at the UN International Court of Justice.

Postimees writes about it.

According to Article 63 of the Statute of the court, when it comes to the interpretation of a convention to which states other than those participating in the case are parties, each of these states has the right to join the judicial process. In this case, the explanation provided by the court will be equally binding for them.

"Estonia, together with other participants of the Convention on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide, wishes to join the dispute between Ukraine and Russia, because Russiaʼs aggression under the pretext of preventing and punishing the crime of genocide has seriously endangered the concept of such a terrible crime as genocide. The court must give an assessment of Russiaʼs actions and the false accusations made by it," said the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Urmas Reinsalu.

• On February 26, 2022, Ukraine filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice of the United Nations regarding Russiaʼs violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Also, Ukraine immediately submitted a petition for preventive measures, in which it asked the UN court to order Russia to stop the war in Ukraine. It is the "genocide" of the population of occupied Donbas that Putin justifies the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• On March 16, the UN International Court of Justice obliged Russia to stop hostilities on the territory of Ukraine until a decision is made in the genocide case.
• After that, applications for participation in the case were submitted by Lithuania, Latvia, New Zealand, France and Great Britain.
• In an interview with Babel, the representative of Ukraine at the UN International Court of Justice, Anton Korynevych, said that the participation of third countries in the case of Ukraine against Russia on the issue of genocide will allow a united front against the Russian Federation to appear in court.