DUSHANBE, July 18, 2014, Asia-Plus — The United Nations Security Council is holding an emergency meeting on the Ukraine crisis on Friday amid mounting calls for an independent, international investigation into the shooting down of a Malaysia Airlines jet, which killed 298 people.
According to UN News Center, the council was discussing a British-drafted statement calling for “a full, thorough and independent international investigation” into what caused the crash and stressing the need for “all parties to grant immediate access by investigators to the crash site to determine the cause of the incident”.
Britain proposed the statement, which calls for an investigation in accordance with international civil aviation guidelines and “for appropriate accountability”, Reuters reported. It would need to be approved by all 15 council members before its release.
Although Ukraine has primary responsibility for investigating the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in its territory, there are precedents for a broader international investigation. What form that would take it not yet clear.
International leaders demanded a multinational investigation, amid fears that debris of the aircraft may be tampered with. Malaysia’s prime minister, Najib Razak, said the government of Ukraine had pledged to him a full and independent investigation. His country was sending a disaster response and assistance team to Ukraine.
Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko, has reportedly called the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, to express his condolences and to invite Dutch experts to assist in the investigation. 154 Dutch nationals were on board the aircraft hit by what US officials said was a Russian-made anti-aircraft missile.
Under International Civil Aviation Organization rules, the government of the country where the crash happened – in this case Ukraine – has jurisdiction over the wreckage and would lead the investigation.
Its consent would normally be required for other countries to be involved in investigating the shooting down of the airliner in eastern Ukraine, in an area controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
