Qatar takes UAE to International Court of Justice over 'devastating' year-long blockade

Qatar will file a case against the UAE over the "devastating" effect of the blockade on human rights of Qataris.

3 min read

11 June, 2018

UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar in June 2017 [Getty]

The government of Qatar said on Monday it was taking the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations' International Court of Justice over "devastating" human rights violations amid the year-long blockade.

In June 2017, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Qatar, severing diplomatic ties with the gas-rich Gulf state, accusing it of supporting terrorism and being too close to Iran.

Doha categorically denies the charges and says the pressure is aimed at stripping it of its sovereignty and forcing regime change.

The government said in a statement on Monday: "As set forth in detail in Qatar's application to the International Court, the UAE led these actions, which have had a devastating effect on the human rights of Qataris and residents of Qatar."

Doha said the UAE enacted a series of measures that discriminate against Qataris, including expelling them from the UAE, prohibiting them from entering or passing through the UAE, ordering UAE nationals to leave Qatar, and closing UAE airspace and seaports to Qatar, Reuters reported.

Qatar said it believed the actions were in violation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) - including discrimination on the basis of nationality - of which the UAE and Qatar are both signatories.

Read more: Fear and Loathing on the Arabian Peninsula

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt are not signatories of the CERD convention.

Qatar requested the court order the UAE to comply with the CERD, ceasing and revoking the measures and restoring the rights of Qataris.

It also requested the UAE makes reparations, including compensation, although did not specify the amount it sought.

The four nations have demanded Doha accepts a list of 13 conditions, including shutting Al Jazeera and The New Arab, to open a dialogue to resolve the conflict. Mediation efforts, mainly led by the emir of fellow Gulf state Kuwait, have so far failed to break the deadlock.

While the crisis has shaken the politics of the region, it has also had serious impact on the lives of ordinary civilians on the ground, a report published last week found, including the separation of families, disrupted imports, including medical resources and construction materials, among other obstacles.

In January, the UN's human rights office accused the four countries of orchestrating a hate campaign against Qatar, which included threats to kill the country's emir.

In a report, the Office for the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) set out how between June and October 2017 there were 1,120 press articles and 600 anti-Qatar caricatures published in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The OHCHR report said: "Such material included… calls for a regime change or a coup d'etat, attacks against leading figures and symbols of Qatar, as well as attacks on and murder of Qataris."

Qatar, the world's number one exporter of liquefied natural gas, has managed to utilise its wealth and human potential and withstood the economic and financial impact of the crisis.