On 20 September 2017, YB Dato’ Sri Anifah Haji Aman, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the Government of Malaysia, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Political Support to Prosecute the Perpetrators of the Downing of MH17. The signing of the MoU took place at the Official Residence of the Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the United Nations in New York, at the margins of the ongoing 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly. The Foreign Ministers of Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands and Ukraine signed the MoU on behalf of their respective governments.
With the signing of the MoU, all the five countries, which established the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to coordinate the criminal investigation on the downing of MH17, reaffirmed their common resolve to seek justice and accountability, by ensuring that the perpetrators are held to account as demanded by the UN Security Council Resolution 2166. Agreeing to prosecute the perpetrators of the downing of flight MH17 in the Netherlands, the JIT countries confirmed that they will assist one another should any of them face any kind of external pressure to undermine the prosecution or the cooperation among them.
Malaysia is unwavering in its commitment to prosecute the perpetrators of the MH17’s downing and secure justice for all the victims, their families and loved ones. Malaysia is pleased with the Dutch-led JIT investigations so far, and is confident that national prosecution under the Dutch law is the most viable option to bring the perpetrators to justice. Malaysia also hopes that this first step towards prosecuting the perpetrators will bring some measures of comfort and hope to the families and next-of-kins (NOKs) of those lost in this 17 July 2014 tragedy.
