The Netherlands and Canada collectively submitted a case towards Syria to the Worldwide Court docket of Justice (ICJ), accusing the Syrian authorities of committing quite a few violations of worldwide legislation, together with torture, because the starting of the nation’s civil battle in 2011. The first goal of the applying, filed with the registry on June 8, is to immediate the ICJ to take fast measures to compel Syria to stop any future cases of torture. If the ICJ finds that it possesses the authority to rule on the matter, it will mark the primary occasion of a world court docket adjudicating Syrian torture allegations.
Of their software, Canada and the Netherlands request that the ICJ order Syria to right away stop its ongoing violations of the Convention Against Torture, maintain accountable and punish these liable for acts of torture, and supply compensation to victims. The ICJ beforehand dominated that state events to the conference share a standard curiosity in stopping acts of torture and guaranteeing that these accountable don’t escape justice, as demonstrated in a earlier 2012 case involving Belgium and Senegal.
Regardless of the absence of diplomatic relations between the 2 nations since 2011, the Netherlands has notified Syria of this determination by way of a diplomatic notice from its everlasting consultant to the UN in Geneva.
The Syrian authorities beforehand contested the legality of the actions taken by the Netherlands and Canada and has constantly denied accusations of torture. The battle in Syria has triggered the lack of over half one million lives, and in line with the Syria Network for Human Rights (SNHR). A minimum of 14,449 civilians have reportedly perished in authorities prisons on account of torture. Former detainees have offered harrowing accounts of systematic torture strategies, equivalent to extreme beatings, electrical shocks, burning of physique components, and sexual violence.
The Netherlands initially initiated legal proceedings towards Syria on the ICJ in 2020, and Canada subsequently jointed the method in 2021. Each nations have made efforts to succeed in a negotiated settlement with Syria in accordance with the dispute decision mechanism outlined within the UN Conference In opposition to Torture, to which Syria is a state celebration. The negotiations haven’t yielded a decision, and Syria did not comply with the proposed arbitration throughout the specified timeframe.
