UN top court starts hearing Qatar’s lawsuit against the UAE

LAHORE: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague (Netherlands) has begun hearing a lawsuit by Qatar against the United Arab Emirates (UAE), over what is a now year-long blockade against the Gulf nation, the Doha-based "Al-Jazeera" Television has reported.

Qatar has filed a case before the United Nations' highest court against the United Arab Emirates for discrimination against the country and its citizens.

The case also focuses on UAE's decision to expel Qatari nationals from the country and the closing of UAE airspace to Qatari air traffic.

According to the "Reuters" news agency, the UAE has argued before World Court judges on that the case brought against it by Qatar for alleged discrimination against Qatari citizens was without merit and should be dismissed.

The "Asharq al-Awsat," an Arabic international newspaper headquartered in London, maintained: "At The Hague, UAE Ambassador to the Netherlands Saeed Al Nowais told the ICJ: "The UAE completely rejects Qatar’s allegations, all of which are without any merit or basis. Qatar has put forward no credible evidence to substantiate any of these claims." He said that since the crisis with Qatar began in June 2017, 8,000 cases of entry and exit for Qatari nationals have been recorded in the UAE."

The newspaper, owned by the Saudi Research and Marketing Group, has gone on to write: "In a series of tweets, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash described Qatar’s move as "pathetic.

" The case brought against the UAE by Qatar is a mere "media fanfare," he said.

The UAE’s legal team presented evidence in numbers that the country is keen on providing education and medical treatment to Qatari citizens in addition to trading with them even after the crisis, said Gargash."

The case comes a year after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt had cut ties with Doha on June 5, 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism and Iran. Doha denies the allegations.

Meanwhile, the "Straits Times" of Singapore said: "Qatar, a small peninsula nation, found its only land border closed, its state-owned airline barred from using its neighbours' airspace, and Qatari residents expelled from the boycotting countries. It filed its case before the body based in The Hague earlier this month, saying the "UAE... implemented a series of discriminatory measures directed at Qataris based on their national origin," resulting in alleged human rights violations."

The newspaper further stated: "It has asked the court - which rules in disputes between countries - to urgently order the UAE to "cease and desist from all conduct that could result... in any form of racial discrimination against Qatari individuals and entities." Doha is basing its claim on the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), one of the first global human rights treaties to be adopted. Both Qatar and the UAE are signatories of the convention."

The "Straits Times" has asserted: "Qatar also accused the UAE of shutting down Al Jazeera Media network's offices and blocking the transmission of Al Jazeera and other Qatari media outlets. Diplomatic efforts have so far proved fruitless in what was previously one of the most stable regions in the Arab world."