The International Court of Justice on Thursday called on Syria to end torture and cruel and degrading treatment, in the first case before international justice involving regime violations during the civil war, which began in 2011.
The Court of Justice said Syria must “take all measures within its power to prevent acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
The court added that Syria, where investigators say tens of thousands of people were killed during the civil war, must “take effective measures to prevent the destruction of evidence and ensure the preservation of all evidence” relating to acts of torture and other forms of “cruel violence.” , inhuman or degrading treatment”.
The decision comes a day after a French court issued an international arrest warrant against the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher, de facto commander of the fourth division of the Syrian regime forces, and two other generals brigade, accused of complicity in crimes against humanity in the context of the chemical attacks launched by Damascus in the summer of 2013.
The complainants, Canada and the Netherlands, asked the court to issue an “urgent” order to stop torture in Syrian prisons, on the grounds that “every day matters” for detainees.
The governments of Canada and the Netherlands said in a joint statement: “Today the International Court of Justice recognized the gravity of the situation and the irreparable harm resulting from Syria’s repeated use of torture and other ill-treatment against its people. .”
Torture is “widespread and entrenched”
In October, judges at the International Court in The Hague heard testimony from Syrian detainees in which they described mass rape, mutilation and a “standardized” method of punishment that involved putting people in a car tire and beating them “severely ”. “
Canada and the Netherlands had asked the court to take “temporary measures” to stop all forms of torture and arbitrary detention in Syria, open prisons to inspectors from abroad and exchange information with families about the fate of their relatives.
According to the complaint presented by the two countries, torture in Syria is “pervasive and deep-rooted… and continues today.” Victims endure “unimaginable physical and mental pain and suffer from acts of torture, including abhorrent treatment in detention… and sexual and gender-based violence.”
The two countries added, citing a UN Human Rights Council report, that “tens of thousands have died, or are believed to have died, as a result of torture.”
Damascus ignored the first session, on October 10, after dismissing the case, describing the accusations as “disinformation and lies”. He said it “lacks the slightest degree of credibility”.
“We sincerely believe that the lives and livelihoods of Syrians are at risk and require the court’s immediate attention,” the Netherlands’ chief representative, René Lefebvre, told the court at the time.
Some countries have convicted or tried individuals, in the name of universal jurisdiction, for committing war crimes in Syria, but there has always been dissatisfaction in Western capitals with the lack of a broader plan to bring this case to international justice.
The Dutch launched the first attempt in this context, in September 2020, to hold Syria accountable for alleged violations of the UN Convention against Torture, signed by Damascus.
Canada joined the case the following March.
The International Court of Justice, which is based in The Hague, was unable to deal with Syria because it did not ratify the Rome Statute, i.e. the treaty establishing the Court.
In 2014, Russia and China blocked a draft UN Security Council resolution that called for the situation in Syria to be referred to the International Criminal Court.
Al-Assad’s return to the international scene in May, when he attended an Arab League summit for the first time in more than a decade, brought the issue back to the fore.