Ukraine submits memorandum to Hague Arbitration Court over Russia’s violation of the Law of the Sea Treaty
On Monday, February 19th, Ukraine filed a memorandum in support of the proceedings against Russia in regards to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The memorandum states that the Russian Federation violated Ukraine’s sovereign rights in the Black and Azov Seas and the Kerch Strait, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reports.
“Starting in 2014, the Russian Federation has illegally deprived Ukraine of the ability to exercise their rights as a maritime State, has exploited Ukraine’s sovereign resources to satisfy their own needs, and usurped the rights of Ukraine to regulate their own sea territories. Aggressively, in violation of international law, the Russian Federation is stealing energy and fishery resources belonging to Ukraine and its people, and at the same time, among other things, physically harms Ukrainian fishermen by blocking the entry of ships to Ukrainian ports due to the illegal construction of the Kerch bridge,” the message says.
Ukraine asks the Permanent Court of Arbitration to require Russia to stop violating the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and to reaffirm Ukraine’s rights in the Black and Azov Seas and the Kerch Strait including obligating the Russian Federation to respect Ukraine’s sovereign rights in their waters.
As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminded, in September 2016, Ukraine initiated the case against Russia that was considered by The Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine is “defending its rights that have been blatantly violated by the Russian Federation in all appropriate international legal platforms including the International Court of Justice and is making demands based on the provision of the Conventions of the UN on the Law of the Sea”.