[JURIST] Dutch prosecutors said Tuesday that they believe they have found parts of a Buk missile system in Eastern Ukraine where the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was brought down last July [BBC backgrounder]. Despite the fact that the plane crash killed all 298 people on-board, no physical evidence has been found or released up to this point. The investigation is being lead by Dutch prosecutor Fred Westerbeke, who made the announcement [AP report] that the parts “probably are parts of a missile system and probably a Buk missile system.” Westerbeke is organizing an international criminal probe into the crash and hopes Russia and other countries could help identify the suspected pieces of the missile system. Although the Dutch authorities have sent several teams of people to recover human remains at the site, no significant evidence has been found at the crash site that may signify who launched the missiles or whether the missile remains are causally connected to the crash in the first place.

The news surrounding Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash has been of interest to countries all across the globe for the past year. In July Russia vetoed [JURIST report] a UN Security Council [official website] resolution that would have created a new tribunal to prosecute those involved in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in Ukraine last July. A UN official said that the plane crash highlights the need to resolve [UN News Centre report] the ongoing political crisis between Russia and Ukraine. Last year the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [official website] reported increasing evidence [JURIST report] of abductions, detentions, torture and killings in the two eastern regions of Ukraine where armed forces hold control. In May 2014 the OHCHR reported alarming deterioration of human rights [JURIST report] in the country. Earlier that month UN rights chief Navi Pillay expressed grave concern [JURIST report] over the escalating unrest in Ukraine that has brought increasing destruction and death to the region.