International Court of Justice Examines Torture Claims in Syria

The International Court of Justice will consider on October 10 and 11 a request from the Netherlands and Canada for the court to order Syria to cease all acts of torture and arbitrary detention, in a case accusing Damascus of violating the United Nations Convention Against Torture. This hearing, held at the Peace Palace, the court's headquarters in The Hague, will be the first time an international court addresses alleged violations committed in Syria during 12 years of conflict. The Syrian government and President Bashar al-Assad have denied allegations of torture and extrajudicial killings in a war that the United Nations states has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands.