Amsterdam - Georgia has instituted proceedings against Russia before the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, the ICJ said in a statement Wednesday.

Georgia is suing the Russian Federation over what it calls "its actions on and around the territory of Georgia" in breach of the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

In its application, Georgia "also seeks to ensure that the individual rights" under the convention "of all persons on the territory of Georgia are fully respected and protected."

Georgia claims Russia has used the South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the second breakaway region it backs, to provoke a conflict with Georgia, resulting in the violation of several articles of the CERD.

In its application to the ICJ, Georgia states that the first violations of the CERD carried out on behalf of Russia, date back to 1990. (dpa)