This is an unprecedented step, both diplomatically and judicially, that the Netherlands have taken against the Syrian regime. In a diplomatic note, addressed to the Syrian embassy in Geneva, the Dutch government accuses Damascus of having violated the United Nations Convention against torture and calls on the regime of Bashar Al-Assad to put an end to these crimes of torture, under penalty of going to the International Court of Justice.
“There is more than enough evidence to show that the Syrian regime is guilty on a large scale of human rights violations, including torture,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at a press conference on Friday September 18th. ” The system of government [du président] Assad has committed horrific crimes time and time again. The evidence is overwhelming. There must be consequences ”, Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said in a statement.
In this note, the Netherlands considers that, “By its inability to prevent and punish acts of torture committed by its public officials or any other person acting in an official capacity, [la Syrie] violated several obligations enshrined in the Convention against Torture ”, that both states have ratified. The Hague urges Damascus to accept full responsibility for its actions, to cease these crimes, and “To grant individual victims full reparation for the harm they suffered as a result of these internationally wrongful acts”.
True diplomatic weight
As a signatory to the Convention, the Netherlands insure itself wronged and therefore propose to Damascus to start negotiations, the first step to settle their “Dispute”. The Hague Note is straightforward. In the absence of an agreement, the Netherlands is already announcing that it will propose to submit the case to an arbitration court. Knowing that both parties must be voluntary, and that it is obviously unlikely that Damascus will submit to it, the Netherlands specify that they will then file a complaint before an international court.
Based in The Hague, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the judicial organ of the United Nations, is responsible for settling diplomatic disputes between States. But, to plead before it, it is necessary first of all to exhaust all the possibilities of settling the dispute. The diplomatic note is one of these steps.
This is the second time that a State, which is not directly linked to an ongoing conflict, has turned to this Court, whose judgments have real diplomatic weight. The Gambia had seized it against Myanmar in November 2019, accusing Rangoon of genocide against the Rohingyas. The case is still ongoing. Guernica 37 law firm, which specializes in international crimes cases and assists the Dutch government, says it has gathered a body of evidence “Demonstrating systematic torture in Syria”, and reminds that “Tens of thousands of civilians are still detained by the government and subjected to acts of torture”.
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