Qatar drags UAE to UN International Court of Justice over stringent economic sanctions put by Arab quartet

Doha, June 12: An ongoing rift between Qatar and Arab Quartet intensifies. Notably, Qatar on Monday dragged the United Arab Emirates, one of the key ally in Arab quartet to the United Nations’ International Court of Justice over describing the diplomatic crisis and stringent economic sanctions as a violation of human rights.

 

Arab Quartet including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt in June last year have cut the diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed stringent economic sanctions on it over supporting extremism or terrorism. The stringent economic sanctions led to a massive Gulf crisis.

The government of Qatar announced to take UAE to the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) over describing the diplomatic crisis and stringent economic sanctions as a violation of human rights. In a statement, the government said, "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."

Meanwhile, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said, "The unlawful measures imposed by UAE have torn apart families, with parents being separated from children and husbands from wives. The families deserve to be reunited."

In its plea, Qatar requested UN Court to order the UAE to take steps to comply with its obligations under the CERD, ceasing and revoking the measures currently applied and restoring the rights of Qataris. It also requested that the UAE makes reparations, including compensation, but gave no details of the amount it might be seeking.

The move on Monday comes exactly a year after the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt cut the diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed stringent economic sanctions on it over supporting extremism or terrorism. On the other side, Qatar has repeatedly rejected the allegations quoting is a ‘baseless’. Importantly, the ICJ is the UN's highest judicial organ.