Qatar accused the United Arab Emirates of inflicting “maximum suffering” on its citizens, thus violating the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination [CERD], during a week-long pleading at The Hague.
Qatar on Wednesday accused the United Arab Emirates at the UN’s International Court of Justice of inflicting “maximum suffering” during the three year blockade, in a historic case against its neighbouring country.
The measures taken by UAE following the ongoing illegal blockade violate the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination [CERD], Dr. Mohamed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi, who is head of the nation’s legal team on the case and Dean of the College of Law at Qatar University, argued in court.
“The UAE seeks to avoid the jurisdiction of this court because it seeks to avoid the truth,” Al-Khulaifi told the court.“This dispute is about the UAE’s punitive discriminatory measures, which are intended to bend the state of Qatar to the UAE’s political will by inflicting maximum suffering on the Qatari people.”
The pleading sessions come in response to initial objections made by the UAE on April 29, 2019, which claimed the court had no jurisdiction in the case and also denied violating international obligations altogether.
The brawl was triggered in 2017 when UAE — along with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bahrain — cut diplomatic ties with the country and imposed an illegal land, air, and sea blockade, citing “terrorism” claims. Qatar has vehemently denied all allegations and said there was “no legitimate justification” for the severance of relations.
As part of the measures imposed on Qatar, the UAE also ordered the expulsion of Qatari nationals from the country, giving them a specific period to leave the country.
Just a year later, Qatar filed a lawsuit against the UAE in the International Court of Justice over Abu Dhabi’s breach of the 1965 CERD. The two nations have been in dispute ever since, going back and forth in a round of accusations at the UN court.
“The UAE’s actions go to the very core of the evil the convention was designed to eradicate,” said Al-Khulaifi.
A court decision is expected in the coming months.
The hearings are streamed live and on-demand (VOD) in English and French on the Court’s website, as well as on UN Web TV, the United Nations online television channel.
