Canada and the Netherlands take Syria to top UN court. They accuse Damascus of widespread torture

By MIKE CORDER
Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Netherlands and Canada are taking Syria’s government to the United Nations’ highest court, accusing Damascus of massive human rights violations against its own people. The two countries say that since 2011, “Syrians have been tortured, murdered, sexually assaulted, forcibly disappeared and subjected to chemical weapon attacks on a mass scale.” Two days of hearings are opening on Tuesday at the International Court of Justice and will focus on the Dutch and Canadian request for judges to issue an interim order for Syria to “immediately cease the torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of its people,” while the case proceeds through the world court. The case is likely to take years.