INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
JOINT APPLICATION INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS CONCERNING A DISPUTE UNDER THE CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT
CANADA AND THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS
v.
THE SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
Filed with the Registry
8 June 2023
JOINT APPLICATION INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS
To the Registrar of the International Court of Justice (the “Court”), the undersigned, being duly
authorized by the Government of Canada and the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands,
state as follows:
1. In accordance with Article 36(1) and Article 40 of the Statute of the International Court of
Justice (the “Statute”) and Article 38 of the Rules of Court, we have the honour to submit
this Joint Application (the “Application”) instituting proceedings in the name of Canada and
the Kingdom of the Netherlands (“the Netherlands”) (jointly, the “Applicants”) against the
Syrian Arab Republic (“Syria”). Pursuant to Article 41 of the Statute, the Application is
accompanied by a separate document requesting that the Court indicate provisional
measures to protect the rights invoked herein from imminent and irreparable prejudice.
I. INTRODUCTION
2. Syria has committed countless violations of international law, beginning at least in 2011,
with its violent repression of civilian demonstrations, and continuing as the situation in Syria
devolved into a protracted armed conflict.1 These violations include the use of torture and
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (“CIDTP”), including through
abhorrent treatment of detainees, inhumane conditions in places of detention, enforced
disappearances, the use of sexual and gender-based violence, and violence against children.
These violations also include the use of chemical weapons which has been a particularly
abhorrent practice to intimidate and punish the civilian population, resulting in numerous
deaths, injuries and severe physical and mental suffering. Syria’s actions, which have
resulted in severe pain and suffering, and the deaths of tens of thousands of people,2 have
been met with widespread condemnation by the international community.
3. This Application concerns the international responsibility of Syria for its gross and systematic
failure to fulfill its obligations regarding the prohibition against torture and other CIDTP, as
well as its other numerous violations of the provisions of the Convention against Torture and
1 UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent Intern ational Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab
Republic, 46th Sess., UN Doc. A/HRC/46/55 (2021) [COI Report A/HRC/46/55] at para. 5, online:
en t-i nternationa-com ri ission -
au-syMan-aiab (Annex 4).
2 UN Human Rights Council, Civilian Deaths in the Syrian Arab Republic - Report of the United Nations High
Commissionerfar Human Rights, Advance Unedited Version, 50th Sess., UN Doc. A/HRC/50/68 (2022) at paras.
1 and 20, online: \nwwohch
united-nations-higj. In this report, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights observed that of the 350,209
confirmed civilian deaths in Syria between March 2011 and March 2021, 12,259 of these deaths were as a
result of the “use of objects and other means” (including sexual violence, death in custody, torture,
strangulation, mutilations, beheadings, and hanging), and 1,295 deaths due to the use of chemical, biological,
radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) weapons. This figure does not include any undocumented deaths from torture
or CIDTP. See paras. 1 and 20 (Annex 5).
1
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the “Convention against
Torture”),3 and the legal consequences flowing therefrom.
4. Syria has consistently denied wrongdoing, despite clear and compelling evidence
demonstrating the sheer magnitude of violations of the Convention against Torture that are
attributable to Syria and that continue to this day.4 Indeed, the United Nations Independent
International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (“CDI”), established by the
United Nations Human Rights Council (“HRC”) to investigate all alleged violations of
international human rights law in Syria since March 2011, has concluded that the Syrian
government has “resorted to arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment, including
through sexual violence, and to involuntary or enforced disappearance to intimidate and
punish perceived political opponents and dissenting civilians and their families.”5
5. Syria has defended its conduct as necessary to combat terrorism. When States defend their
populations from terrorist acts, however, they are obligated to do so in compliance with
international human rights law. Syria has consistently failed in this regard.6 As a peremptory
norm of international law (jus cogens),7 and pursuant to Article 2(2) of the Convention
against Torture,8 torture is prohibited in all circumstances, without derogation. No
exceptional circumstances whatsoever can justify the use of torture.
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 10 December
1984, United Nations Treaty Series, Vol. 1465, P. 85 (entered into force 26 June 1987) [Convention against
Torture] online o Lfl i it 1 — L
C(LL or-degrading (Annex 1.1).
The facts relied on by the Applicants have been extensively and meticulously collected and documented by
various bodies of the United Nations and other international inter-governmental organisations, as well as
reputable non-governmental organisations and other credible sources. See, for example, UN Human Rights
Council, Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council at its seventeenth special session, 17th Spec. Sess.,
UN Doc. A/HRC/RES/S-17/1 (2011), online:
vohchro ii (Annex6l)as
found in UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Human rights Council on its seventeenth special session, 17th
Spec. Sess., UN Doc. A/HRC/S-17/2 (2011), online: nttps;1cH:-1dii
‘L,C1t GrIo D ‘‘u - establishing the Independent
International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (Annex 6.2). See also UN General Assembly,
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 21 December2016, 71st Sess., UN Doc. A/RES/71/248 (2017),
online n/ :, o c1o’ JJDO ‘- N16/462/0]. ‘ 1’1oJ flI
establishing the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to assist in the investigation and
prosecution of persons responsible for the most serious crimes under international law committed in the
Syrian Arab Republic since March 2011 (Annex 7).
CDI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 100.
6 UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab
Republic, 46th Sess., UN Doc. A/HRC/46/54 (2021) [CDI Report A/HRC/46/54] at paras. 22-23, online:
uhi cLz -. port inde. H 1
inquiry-syrian-arab (Annex 8).
Questions relating to the Obligation to Prosecute or Extradite (Belgium v. Senegal), Judgment, [20121 ICJ Rep
422 [Belgium v Senegal] at para 99 online uoc L LLrH1 iJLL1 i/ 1
2O12C7?O-JUDCOpf (Annex 2).
Convention against Torture, supra note 3 at Article 2(2), states: “No exceptional circumstances whatsoever,
whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be
invoked as a justification of torture.”
2
6. After nearly a decade of conflict, with shifting control over cities and territory, a ceasefire
was brokered in February 2020, which has largely held to date, in which the Syrian
government regained significant territory.9 Even after this shift in circumstances, Syria
continued to fail to take meaningful measures to remedy its ongoing violations of the
Convention against Torture, including the commission of torture and other CIDTP.
7. A credible political process to resolve the conflict and address these violations remains
lacking.1° In light of the massive scale and ongoing nature of these violations, and the
recognised link between continued impunity for those that have committed human rights
violations in Syria and the continued commission of such violations,’1 the Applicants have
resorted to the dispute settlement procedure as contained in Article 30(1) of the Convention
against Torture. The Applicants seek compliance by Syria with its obligations thereunder,
which are of an erga omnes partes nature, and are thus owed to the Applicants, and indeed
to all States Parties to the Convention against Torture.12
II. JURISDICTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OFJUSTICE
8. The Applicants and Syria are all Members of the United Nations and bound by the Statute,
including Article 36(1), which provides that the jurisdiction of the Court “comprises [...] all
matters specially provided for [...] in treaties and conventions in force.”
The Applicants and Syria are all States Parties to the Convention against Torture. Canada
ratified the Convention against Torture on 24 June 1987, and the Netherlands did so on 21
December 1988.’ Syria acceded to the Convention against Torture on 19 August 2004.14 By
18 September 2004, the Convention had entered into force as between all three parties to
the present dispute.
See, for example, COl Report A/HRC/46/54, supra note 6 at para. 19.
10 See, for example, UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry
on the Syrian Arab Republic, 52d Sess., UN Doc. A/HRC/52/69 (2023) [COI Report A/HRC/52/69] at para. 6,
online: t-intemaionai
(Annex 9), with reference to UN Security Council, Briefing by Mr Geir
Pedersen, United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, 29 November 2022, at para. 15, online:
29secco Ufl ec!a ;Ifl5 as deIveefpp4f (Annex 10).
UN Security Council, Resolution 2191 (2014), UN Dcc. S/RES/2191 (2014), preamble, page 3, online:
htts:!/documents-cids-n.un.c/cicLNDCC/GEN/N14/7OO/22/PDF/N147OO22.o (Annex
11).
12 Belgium v. Senegal, supra note 7 at para. 69.
13 See Annexes 1.1 and 1.2 for Canada and the Netherlands’ instruments of ratification of the Convention
against Torture.
14 UN Treaty Body Database, Ratification Status for Syrian Arab Republic, online:
3
Conditions for Jurisdiction under Article 30 of the Convention against Torture
10. As States Parties to the Convention against Torture, the Applicants and Syria are all bound by
the dispute resolution process set out in Article 30(1), which states:
Any dispute between two or more States Parties concerning the interpretation or application
of this Convention which cannot be settled through negotiation shall, at the request of one
of them, be submitted to arbitration. If within six months from the date of the request for
arbitration the Parties are unable to agree on the organization of the arbitration, any one of
those Parties may refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice by request in
conformity with the Statute of the Court.
11. Neither Canada, the Netherlands nor Syria has made a reservation under Article 30(2) of the
Convention against Torture, to declare that it does not consider itself bound by Article 30(1).
12. In order to exercise jurisdiction in the present case, the Court must be satisfied that each of
the following requirements has been met: (i) there is a dispute in existence as between each
of the Applicants and Syria; (ii) the dispute could not be settled through negotiations; and
(iii) after a request was made to submit the dispute to arbitration, the parties were unable
to agree to the organisation of arbitration within six months.
(i) The Existence of a Dispute between the Applicants and Syria
13. The Netherlands formally notified Syria that it was requesting negotiations pursuant to
Article 30(1) of the Convention against Torture on 18 September 2020, via Note Verbale,’5
and publicly announced that it had taken this step.’6 The next day, Syria publicly denounced
the Netherlands’ actions.17 Canada formally notified Syria of its request for negotiations
pursuant to Article 30(1) on 3 March 2021,18 also accompanied by a public announcement.’9
The Applicants each took this step due to their disputes with Syria regarding the latter’s
responsibility for its failure to fulfill its obligations under the Convention against Torture. On
12 March 2021, the Applicants announced their joint intention to hold Syria to account for
“ Note Verbale from the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Geneva, Switzerland to the
Permanent Mission of the Syrian Arab Republic in Geneva Switzerland (18 September 2020) (Annex 3, NV 1); A
full record of the Notes Verbales exchanged between the parties to the dispute may be found in Annex 3 to
this Application.
16 Government of the Netherlands, News Item, “The Netherlands holds Syria responsible for gross human
rights violations (18 September 2020) online . I L
, -S,the
(Annex 12).
‘ Syrian Arab News Agency, “Foreign Ministry: Government of the Netherlands is the last one who has the
right to talk about the Human rights (19 September 2020) online https I/san — =..F (Annex 13)
18 Note Verbale from the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations and the World Trade
Organization at Geneva to the Permanent Mission of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations at Geneva
(3 March 2021) (Annex 3, NV 6).
‘° Government of Canada, News Release, “Minister of Foreign Affairs takes action on Syria’s human rights
violations” (4 March 2021), online:
(Annex 14).
4
these violations.20
14. Since at least 2011, the Applicants have consistently expressed their profound concern
regarding the human rights situation in Syria, and have repeatedly called on Syria to meet its
international human rights obligations, which include those set out in the Convention
against Torture. In various multilateral settings, including the United Nations Security
Council (“UNSC”), the United Nations General Assembly (“UNGA”), and the HRC, the
Applicants have specifically registered their views2’ and co-sponsored resolutions22
condemning, inter alia, Syria’s use of torture and other CIDTP, including through instances of
sexual and gender-based violence, enforced disappearances, abhorrent treatment of
detainees, inhumane conditions of detention, and other acts committed by Syria to coerce,
punish or terrorize its civilian population. Syria has repeatedly rejected the positions taken
20 Government of the Netherlands, Diplomatic Statement, “Joint statement of Canada and the Kingdom of the
Netherlands regarding their cooperation in holding Syria to account” (12 March 2021), online:
ceri i I. I d‘_ cij iij*jj]Zi
(Annex 15).
21 See, for example, UNSC: Netherlands, Statement by Mr. Van Oosterom (Netherlands), United Nations,
Security Council, 8434th1 Meeting, UN Doc. S/PV.8434, at page 10-11 (Annex 16); UNGA: Canada, Statement by
HE. Ambassador Rishchynski (Canada), Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations, General
Assembly, 96tI Plenary Meeting, 66th Sess., UN Doc. A/66/PV.96 (2012) at page 3, online: https://docLlments
d (Annex 17); Canada,
Statement by Ms. Pritchard, United Nations, General Assembly, Summary Record of the 13t1J Meeting, 75th
Sess., UN Doc. A/C.3/75/SR.13 (2021) at page 10 at para. 63, online: ojments-c]cls
/do lUNG 2O/32?’J/PDF/u3 z ) pdf7OpenElement (Annex 18) HRC Canada United
Nations Webcast, 17th Special Session, Human Rights Council (Part 2), UNHRC, 17th Spec. Sess., at timestamp
00:30:40, online: http://medIaun,or /en/isset/k14/kixmda; the Netherlands, United Nations Webcast,
Commission of inquiry on Syria - 15th Meeting 30th Regular Session of Human Rights Council, UNHRC, 30th Reg.
Sess., at timestamp 1:57:04, online:
22 Since 2011, there have been over 50 resolutions related to the human rights situation in Syria adopted by
the UNHRC, and UNGA. See for example: UN Human Rights Council, Resolution adopted by the Human Rights
Council, 16th Spec. Sess., UN Doc. A/HRC/RES/S-16/1 (2011), online: httpJ/documentsdds
(Annex 19); UN Human Rights
Council, Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council at its seventeenth special session, 17th Spec. Sess.,
UN Doc. A/HRC/RES/S-17/1 (2011), online:
(Annex 6.1) as
found in the UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Human rights Council on its seventeenth special session,
17th Spec. Sess., UN Doc. A/HRC/S-17/2 (2011), online: bjos:iLdocumens-dds
(Annex 6.2); UN Human Rights
Council, Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 23 March 2016, 31st Sess., UN Dcc.
A/HRC/RES/31/17 (2016), online: hjj/Lqcwunts-dc1s
n’Lun.orgtcIoc/UNDOC/GEN/G15/O/2/2PDF/G16O7225odPOpenElement (Annex 20); UN General Assembly,
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 19 December2011, 66th Sess., UN Doc. A/RES/66/176 (2012),
online htLps //do ntdcl 7P u /41iL’D38 o-Oj mn
(Annex 21); UN General Assembly, Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December2014, 69th
Sess., UN Doc. A/RES/69/189 (2015), online: pj//clocumenisdds
(Annex 22); and most recently U N
Human Rights Council, Situation of Human Rights in the Syrian Arab Republic, 52 Sess., UN Dcc.
A/HRC/RES/52/30 [A/HRC/52/L.16j, online
n’.ofg/doC/UNDOC/LTD/323/o5O/3/PDF/G23O53,pcir?OoenEement (Annex 23) and UN General
Assembly, Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 15 December2022, 77th Sess., UN Dcc.
A/RES/77/230 (2023), online: httpj/c1oc!.Iments-dds
ny.unorg/doc/UNDOC/GENl,/l/764/93/PDF/N2276498.pdf?OpenElemen (Annex 24).
5
by the Applicants, and in the context of the UNGA, has consistently voted against the
adoption of related resolutions.23
15. In the context of the HRC, the Applicants have made recommendations to Syria during its
Universal Periodic Reviews held in 2011, 2016, and 2022 respectively, to inter a/ia: cease
torture and other CIDTP related practices, investigate alleged violations, and bring
perpetrators to justice.24 None of the related recommendations were accepted by Syria, but
were rather rejected outright or were noted as “not enjoying the support” of Syria.25
16. On the basis of the above, it is clear that a dispute exists as between the Applicants and Syria
with respect to the interpretation and application of the Convention against Torture.
(ii) Attempts to Settle the Dispute through Negotiation
17. The Applicants have made a genuine attempt to resolve the dispute concerning breaches of
the Convention against Torture by Syria through good faith negotiations. Sixty-six Notes
Verbales have been exchanged between the Applicants and Syria, including substantive
discussions with regard to the dispute and attempts to negotiate its resolution.26 The Notes
Verbales were sent by and to the respective Permanent Missions of the Applicants and Syria
to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland and from the Syrian Embassy in the United
Arab Emirates. The Applicants additionally met in-person with Syria in Abu Dhabi, United
Arab Emirates, on 25 April 2022 and 5-6 October 2022, as part of their efforts to negotiate a
resolution of the dispute.
23 See, for example, UN General Assembly, 89th Plenary Meeting, Monday, 19 December 2011, 66t6 Sess., UN
Doc. A/66/PV.89 (2011) at pages 19-21, 25, online: /cLccum:-dJs
ny un org/doc/UNDO . ) - -2 (Annex 25) UN General Assembly
73rd Plenary Meeting, Thursday, 18 December 2014, 73rd Sess., UN Doc. A/69/PV.73 (2014) at pages 18-19, 23,
online . I 0 /
:ne”:25’•; UN General Assembly, 58th Plenary Meeting, Friday, 9 December2016, 7]Ot Sess., UN Doc.
A/71/PV.58 (2016) at pages 4 and 20-21, online: //ccu
I2Lo UHDOLO.H 1N L’Df-0J u JDn (Annex27) 54th Plenary Meeting
Thursday, 15 December2022, 77th Sess., UN Doc. A/77/PV.54 (2022) at page 25, online: https://documents
c OH /022) 5309. f?OnEJement(An nex 28).
24 UN Human Rights council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review - Syrian Arab
Republic, 19th Sess., UN Doc. HRC/19/11 (2012) [UPR WG A/HRC/19/11] at 22 at para. 104.17, online:
h/oi LsdcL±/InodocUNDOC1CEN iiOZ,3
210233 Oo: (
Annex
29); UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review—Syrian Arab
Republic, 34th Sess., UN Doc. A/HRC/34/5 (2016) at paras. 110.21, 109.148, 109.167, online:
it //documen clds .o::/c!oc/UNDOC/GEN/0 1:3/441/72.
30); UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review - Syrian Arab
Republic, 5Qti Sess., UN Doc. A/HRC/50/6 (2022) at page 17 at para. 133.133 and at page 18 at para. 133.147,
online: h;:r s:/.0c !flliLS-c! n;..ett/doc/UODOC’0EN/G22/ 207/9b/PDF. 2 22:?3792. cIf?c2enen:
(Annex 31).
25 See, for example, UPR WG A/HRC/19/11, ibid. at para. 104.17; UN Human Rights Council, Report of the
Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review — Syrian Arab Republic, Addendum, 34th Sess., UN Doc.
A/HRC/34/5/Add.1 (2017) at 8, online: https://documents-dds
O 0/7 U/iD1)C/GEN/017/035/86/PDF/G1705586.pdf?OpenElemeflt (Annex 32).
26 See Annex 3.
6
18. In an effort to advance substantive discussions of the dispute while the parties were
attempting to agree on a mutually acceptable location for in-person meetings, the
Applicants presented a Statement of Facts and a Statement of Law to Syria in writing on 9
August 2021.27 These documents included a description of the relief sought by the
Applicants. On 30 September 2021, Syria informed the Applicants that it rejected “in toto”
the characterisation of the dispute as its “international responsibility for the recent breaches
of its obligations under the Convention against Torture,” along with the Statement of Facts
and Statement of Law.28 Despite repeated requests by the Applicants, Syria never responded
in writing to the Statement of Facts and the Statement of Law.
19. In the meantime, the Applicants continued to make concerted efforts to meet in-person,
with the parties finally convening on 25 April 2022 in Abu Dhabi. During that meeting, the
Applicants presented statements, once again setting out the dispute and the relief sought.
Modalities for the continuing negotiations were agreed to. A second meeting was convened
on 5-6 October 2022. At that meeting, the Applicants delivered oral presentations of the
documents provided to Syria in writing in August 2021, namely on the facts of the dispute,
the law, and the Applicants’ request for relief, in particular: cessation of violations of the
Convention against Torture, assurances and guarantees of non-repetition, and full
reparation for victims.
20. On the basis of the outcome of two rounds of in-person meetings, and more than two years
of exchanges of Notes Verbales, without any progress towards settling the dispute, the
Applicants were forced to conclude that negotiations had become deadlocked or futile. They
informed Syria of their position by Note Verbale on 17 October 2022.29
(iii) Attempts to Organise Arbitration
21. By Note Verbale dated 7 November 2022, the Applicants formally requested that the dispute
be submitted to arbitration, and enclosed a proposal of elements to form the basis for an
agreement on the organisation of arbitration.3° Syria did not acknowledge or otherwise
respond to the formal request made by the Applicants to refer the dispute to arbitration. In
the three Notes Verbales it has sent since the formal request for arbitration, Syria has not
27 Note Verbale from the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland and the
Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland to the
Permanent Mission of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland (9 August 2021)
(Annex 3, NV 13).
28 Note Verbale from the Permanent Mission of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations Office and
other International Organizations in Geneva to the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in
Geneva (30 September 2021) (Annex 3, NV 15).
29 Note Verbale from the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland and the
Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland to the
Permanent Mission of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland (17 October
2022) (Annex 3, NV 60).
° Note Verbale from the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland and the
Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland to the
Permanent Mission of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland (7 November
2022) (Annex 3, NV 62).
7
acknowledged the Applicants’ request to submit the dispute to arbitration, notwithstanding
subsequent invitations from the Applicants for Syria to provide comments on the proposal
regarding elements for the organisation of arbitration. More than six months have passed
since the Applicants formally requested arbitration, without agreement on the organisation
of arbitration.
Conclusion on Jurisdiction
22. The Applicants have satisfied the conditions set out in Article 30(1) of the Convention
against Torture to establish the jurisdiction of the Court. There is an existing dispute
between the parties concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention against
Torture, specifically regarding Syria’s numerous and ongoing violations of its obligations
thereunder, and its repeated denials in this regard.
23. Despite lengthy efforts on the part of the Applicants over the course of more than two years,
the dispute could not be settled through negotiation. No agreement was reached on the
organisation of arbitration, and the dispute has not been otherwise resolved in the
meantime.
24. The Court thus has jurisdiction pursuant to Article 36(1) of the Statute and Article 30(1) of
the Convention against Torture to settle the dispute between the Applicants and Syria.
Ill. SUMMARYOFTHEFACTS
25. The use of torture and other CIDTP is entrenched in the Syrian system of detention. Over the
past four decades, suspected opponents of the Syrian government have been subjected to
torture and detention.3’ In its 2010 Concluding Observations to Syria’s initial report under
the Convention against Torture, the United Nations Committee against Torture (“the
Committee”) expressed deep concern about the widespread and routine use of torture by
Syrian officials, in particular in detention facilities.32
26. As of 2011, Syria began employing torture and other CIDTP on a massive scale. Against a
background of unrest across several countries in the Middle East and North Africa,
demonstrations broke out in Syria in February 2011 around economic, social and other
human rights issues, with demands for government reform.33 Syria’s longstanding practices
of arbitrary detention of dissidents and activists were among the main grievances that
inspired the protests, which were accompanied by calls for the release of political
31 UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab
Republic, 171h Spec. Sess., UN Doc. A/HRC/S-17/2/Add.1 (2011) {C0I Report A/HRC/S-17/2/Add.1] at para. 17,
online: https://Jocrnents 7O7.aceEemnz
(Annex 33).
32 UN Committee against Torture, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties under
Article 19 of the Convention, 44t Sess., UN Doc. CAT/C/SYR/C0/1 (2010) at para. 7, online: https://documents
dds ny un c : uDO’/ 63PFoL - (Annex 34)
CDI Report A/HRC/46/54, supra note 6; CDI Report A/HRC/S-17/2/Add.1, supra note 31 at para. 27.
8
prisoners.34 In March 2011, Syrian security forces detained and tortured a group of Syrian
children accused of defacing public buildings with anti-government graffiti in the city of
Dar’a, prompting further peaceful protests in the city.35 After families recovered the
mutilated bodies ofThamirAl Sharee, 14 years of age, and Hamza Ali Al Khateeb, 13 years of
age, detained in April in a separate incident, protests spread across Syria.36
27. The Syrian government responded with widespread arrests during military operations and at
checkpoints,37 and with targeted attacks on demonstrators in many locations.38
Notwithstanding initial announcements of limited reforms in the spring of 2011, the Syrian
government continued its brutal repression of demonstrations and non-violent activists.39
Defections from the military and security forces ensued, fuelling the emergence of armed
opposition groups.4° This situation of unrest in Syria eventually devolved into an armed
conflict.4’
28. Since the spring of 2011, the use of torture and other CIDTP, often in the context of arbitrary
detention, has been a hallmark of the conflict.42 The security and intelligence apparatus,
which includes police forces under the Ministry of the Interior, Syrian Military Intelligence,
Air Force Intelligence, the National Security Bureau, the Political Security Directorate and the
General Intelligence Directorate, is large and effective,43 with central offices in Damascus, as
well as a vast network of regional, city and local facilities within governorates across the
country. The highly consistent use of various methods of torture and other CIDTP —
regardless of location and detaining authority44 — demonstrates the systematic and
widespread nature of the practice,45 which extends from the highest levels of the Syrian
government.46The Syrian government has also engaged pro-government militia and
committees (colloquially known as Shabbiha47) in, inter alia, confronting demonstrators,
CCI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 5.
CCI Report A/HRC/S-17/2/Add.1, supra note 31 at para. 27.
36 CCI Report A/HRC/S-17/2/Add.1, supra note 31 at para. 62; CCI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at page
2.
‘ CCI Report A/HRC/46/54, supra note 6 at para. 3; see also CCI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1.
38 CCI Report A/HRC/46/54, supra note 6 at para. 3.
Ibid.
40 Ibid.
41 Id., at para. 4.
42 CCI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 1.
‘ CCI Report A/HRC/S-17/2/Add.1, supra note 31 at para. 19.
UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab
Republic, 21st Sess., UN Doc A/HRC/21/50 (2012) at para. 77 [CCI Report A/HRC/21/50J, online:
50 en.pdf (Annex 35).
‘ Ibid. paras.77-85.
46 See, for example, CCI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 25, noting that “all parts” of the Syrian
security forces have been involved in Convention against Torture violations, and confirming the systematic
torture and ill-treatment of detainees and involvement of high-ranking officers.
‘ CCI Report A/HRC/S-17/2/Add.1, supra note 31 at para. 20, the CCI explains that: “The militia includes the
Shabbiha, which is composed of an estimated 10,000 civilians, who are armed by the Government and are
widely used to crush anti-Government demonstrations alongside national security forces; and the People’s
Army, a Baath party militia with an estimated 100,000 reservists, designed to provide additional security and
protection in cities in times of war.”
9
establishing checkpoints, capturing members of opposition forces, and transferring them to
branches of the intelligence and security services.48
Treatment of Detainees
29. Since 2011, Syrian officials have frequently detained protesters, both during and
immediately following demonstrations, in addition to other individuals perceived to oppose
the Syrian government, and their family members, often as a result of targeted security or
military operations.49 As the conflict progressed, Syrian forces also engaged in mass arrest
campaigns in areas that they recaptured.5° Individuals have additionally been targeted based
on their ethnicity, cultural background, religion, gender, and sexual orientation.51
30. During security and military operations, and at checkpoints and other points of arrest, as
well as during the transfer to detention facilities, Syrian officials and others acting at their
instigation, or with their consent or acquiescence have committed, and continue to commit,
torture and other CIDTP.5’ Detainees were most often taken to official detention centres and
interrogated by Syrian intelligence and security services. Upon arrival, detainees were
beaten and whipped for an extended period, sometimes hours.53 Those who survived this
treatment continued to be subjected to torture and other CIDTP throughout their detention.
31. In some instances, Syrian officials and others under their control transferred those taken
into custody to unofficial detention centres, including converted military barracks, schools,
stadiums and warehouses, as well as to secret detention locations.54 Sections within military
and civilian hospital facilities were also repurposed for detention, and became notorious for
the torture and other CIDTP inflicted on injured detainees by security officers, and in some
cases, by medical personnel.55
32. The methods of torture used by Syrian officials, and others acting at their instigation, or with
their consent or acquiescence, are both physical and mental, causing severe as well as longterm
consequences, and frequently death.56 The use of at least 20 different methods of
torture by Syrian officials has been extensively documented.57 Reported methods of torture
48 See for example, C0I Report A/HRC/21/50, supra note 44 in particular at paras. 52, 74-86, 96-102.
“ UN Human Rights Council, Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Deaths in Detention in the Syrian Arab Republic, 31st
Sess., UN Doc. A/HRC/31/CRP.1 (2016) at para. 18 [CDI, Out of Sight, Out of Mind), online:
oi/LeiL’ui /Euir nRL cl2 Cov 1-siCRPioLpd(Annex
36); CDI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 15.
° Ibid., CDI, Out of Sight, Out of Mind.
‘ See, for example, CDI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 15; and UN Human Council, Oral Update of
the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, 25th Sess., 18 March 2014 at
para. 27 (Annex 37).
52 Ibid., CDI Report A/HRC/46/55, paras. 15 and 20.
United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Open Wounds — Torture and ill-treatment
in the Syrian Arab Republic, United Nations, Human Rights (14 April 2014) [DHCHR, Open Wounds) at pages 4-
5 online oLi- — to-i - (Annex 38)
CDI Report A/HRC/21/50, supra note 44 at paras. 6, 14-16.
UN Human Rights Council, Assault on medical care in Syria, 24th Sess., UN Doc. A/HRC/24/CRP.2 (2013) at
paras. 33-37, online: 39).
56 CDI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 20.
‘ Ibid.
10
have been consistent across the country.58 They include, inter a/ia, severe beatings and
whippings, including with fists, electric cables, metal and wooden sticks, chains and rifle
butts; administering electric shocks; burning body parts; pulling out nails and teeth; mock
executions; and simulated drownings.59 In many cases, detainees are subjected to multiple
and recurring periods of torture, during which a combination of torture techniques are
deployed.
33. Syrian intelligence and security officials have also used standardised methods of torture and
other CIDTP, which often combine severe beatings with prolonged stress positions or the
use of specific torture devices. These have included: folding detainees into a car tyre
followed by a severe beating (dulab);6° crucifying or suspending detainees from one or two
limbs for prolonged periods and beating them (shabeh);6’ strapping detainees to hinged
wooden boards, the ends of which are brought slowly together, overextending the body and
spine (bisat a! nh or flying carpet);62 and beatings or whippings against the soles of the feet
(falaqa) 63
Conditions of Detention
34. The abhorrent conditions documented across Syria’s system of detention constitute CIDTP
and often amount to torture in and of themselves.64 Prison conditions are similar across
detention facilities, and characterised by severe overcrowding with detainees often forced
to stand and sleep in shifts.65 Some cells are underground,66 leaving victims in near complete
darkness, sometimes for months on end. A 22-year-old student detained at the Air Force
Intelligence Branch in the town of Harasta and held in an overcrowded cell of 12 square
metres, explained:
It was impossible to sleep. We were cramped, the smell was unbearable, and the cell was
infested with insects. We could hardly breathe. There was no ventilation at all; the only small
window of the room was closed all the time. There was a hole in one of the corners of the
cell, which was the toilet. It was disgusting; there was no privacy at all. Imagine 60 persons
using that hole every day. There was no recreation time whatsoever.67
UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab
Republic, 22nd Sess., UN Doc. A/HRC/22/59 (2013) [CCI Report A/HRC/22/591 at para. 16, online:
nir C’fl t fljcfc PL (Annex
40).
CCI Report A/HRC/21/50, supra note 44 at Annex VIII at para. 8; UN Human Rights Council, Report of the
Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, 24t Sess., UN Doc. A/HRC/24/46
(2013) at para. 80, online: httos://docurnents-clcls
ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/1/164/1O/PDF/G13164iOpdf?OpEIee (Annex 41); CCI Report
A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 20.
60 CCI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 20.
61 Ibid.
62 CCI Report A/HRC/21/50, supra note 44 at Annex VIII at para. 9; CCI Report A/HRC/22/59, supra note 58 at
para. 17.
63 CCI Report A/HRC/21/50, supra note 44 at Annex VIII at para. 9.
64 CCI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 20.
CCI, Out of Sight, Out of Mind, supra note 49 at para. 26.
66 CCI Report A/HRC/22/59, supra note 58 at para. 96.
67 CHCHR, Open Wounds, supra note 53 at pages 4-5.
11
35. Most detainees are provided with inadequate food and drinking water.68 For extended
periods of time, there is a complete absence of any food at all, leading to dehydration,
malnourishment and sometimes death by starvation.69
36. The risks to the health and lives of detainees imposed by the conditions of detention have
been compounded by the often non-existent or inadequate medical assistance, making
otherwise treatable conditions fatal.7° Detainees died in large numbers from preventable
conditions such as diarrhoea or other infections that spread in unhygienic and overcrowded
cells.71 Overcrowding, lack of adequate sanitation and lice infestations also resulted in the
spread of skin diseases.72 Furthermore, detainees received little to no medical care to treat
wounds sustained during torture and developed severe infections, in some cases eventually
resulting in death.73
Syria’s Use of Torture and other CIDTP to Interrogate, Punish, Intimidate, and Coerce
37. Detainees are routinely subjected to torture and other CIDTP in the course of interrogations.
Syrian officials have interrogated detainees to obtain, amongst other information, details
regarding the organisation of demonstrations and other opposition activities, the reasons for
protesting, as well as the involvement of the detainees or their family members and others
in opposition and armed groups.74 Detainees who are members of the Syrian military forces
or security services are often interrogated regarding plans to defect.75 The information
gathered is then used to identify and to target additional suspects for arrest and detention.76
38. A 60 year-old male, held for three months in different detention centers in the Tartous
Governorate in 2013, including at a Military Intelligence Branch facility, was interrogated
about his alleged involvement in an opposition group and the identity of members of this
group.77 He described his detention conditions as follows:
Every day, celimates were taken for 30 or 45 minutes of interrogation and came back with
their faces bleeding, barely able to walk, and with open wounds that remained untreated
and became infected.78
68 CDI Report A/HRC/22/59, supra note 58 at para. 96.
69 CDI Report A/HRC/22/59, supra note 58 at para. 96; UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent
International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, 37th Sess., UN Doc A/HRC/25/65 2014 at
para. 52 (Annex 42).
70 CDI, Out of Sight, Out of Mind, supra note 49 at para. 29.
71 Ibid.
72 UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent Intern ational Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab
Republic, 37th Sess., UN Doc. A/HRC/37/72 (2018) [CDI Report A/HRC/37/72) at para. 65, online:
LL P I D .2282 pdf2OpenElement (Annex
43).
CDI, Out of Sight, Out of Mind, supra note 49 at para. 24.
‘ CDI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 3.
CDI Report A/HRC/21/50, supra note 44, Annex VIII at para. 4.
76 CDI, Out of Sight, Out of Mind, supra note 49 at para. 86.
‘ DHCHR, Open Wounds, supra note 53 at page 5.
78 Ibid.
12
39. Syria also uses torture and other CIDTP to extract confessions of the detainees’ perceived
opposition activities or to elicit promises to abstain from any future participation therein.79
Detainees have been routinely forced to sign or fingerprint documents they were not able to
read, which often turned out to be written confessions of crimes, sometimes while
blindfolded or handcuffed.8° The extracted confessions have subsequently been used as a
means to justify the detainees’ further detention or, in some cases, convictions.8’
40. Syria perpetrates torture and other CIDTP as a means of punishment, intimidation, and
coercion. Victims have been punished for perceived disloyalty to the Syrian government.
They are intimidated in order to instill fear, with a view to forcing them to refrain from
demonstrations and other opposition-related activities, as well as to discourage others from
doing so.82
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
41. Sexual and gender based violence, including rape, is deployed by Syria as a means of torture
and other CIDTP. It is routinely committed against both male and female detainees,
including children, and often combined with other practices amounting to torture and other
CIDTP.83 Sexual and gender-based violence has been perpetrated by Syrian government
forces and affiliated militia during home raids, military operations, and at checkpoints,84 as
well as by Syrian officials across government-controlled places of detention, where it is used
to extract information, as well as to intimidate, coerce, humiliate and punish.85
42. In detention, women and girls have been routinely subjected to invasive and humiliating
body searches by male guards,88 as well as forced nudity and beatings and electric shocks to
their genitals.87 Women and girls have been routinely raped, with many subjected to
multiple rapes, including gang rapes.88 Men and boys have been subjected to a range of
forms of sexual violence.89 Rape was most commonly perpetrated with objects, including
batons, wooden sticks, pipes, and bottles.9° Electric shocks, beatings targeting genitals, and
genital mutilation are also forms of torture frequently administered.9’
CDI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 16.
80 CDI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 16.
81 Ibid.; See also UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on
the Syrian Arab Republic, 51st Sess., UN Dcc. A/HRC/51/45 (2022) [CDI Report 51/45] at para. 19, online:
(Annex
44).
82 CDI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 3.
83 Id., supra note 1 at para. 20.
CDI Report A/HRC/22/59, supra note 58 at para. 106.
85 CDI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 21.
86 UN Human Rights Council, “I lost my dignity”: Sexual and gender-based violence in the Syrian Arab Republic,
37th Sess., UN Doc. A/HRC/37/CRP.3 (2018) [CDI, I lost my dignity] at para. 31, online:
o-c org /ueiiu/hIe’DuiIt/jjP3od/r-uc.o i pia HR 37 (Annex 45)
CDI Report A/HRC/46/54, supra note 6 at para. 50.
87 Id., CDI, I lost my dignity, at paras. 33 and 37.
88 Id., at para. 34.
89 Id., at paras. 43-44.
90 Id., at para. 44; CDI Report A/HRC/46/54, supra note 6 at para. 50.
91 CDI, I lost my dignity, supra note 86 at paras. 49-50; CDI Report A/HRC/46/54, supra note 6 at para. 50.
13
43. Outside formal places of detention, it is women and girls that have predominantly been
victims of sexual violence and rape.92 During house raids, family members have been forced
to watch the rape, including gang rape, of female relatives.93 At checkpoints, sexual violence
has most often taken place in nearby buildings, military vehicles or other forms of shelter,
although in some cases women and girls have been raped in front of their male relatives.94
44. Syrian officials have also used sexual and gender-based violence as a means to coerce men
from opposition and armed groups to surrender, in exchange for the release of their
detained relatives.95 Syrian authorities have also threatened to rape detainees in front of
their family members, or to rape their wives and children. As one male detainee at the
Damascus Political Security Branch reported in 2014:
The officer took two girls, held their faces down on the desk, and raped them in turn. The
girls tried to resist but there was nothing they could do. The officer then told me “you see
what I am doing to them, I will do this to your wife and daughter.”96
45. Victims have suffered extreme pain, physical injuries, and mental suffering from sexual and
gender-based violence. In particular, women and girls who have been subjected to repeated
sexual violence, including gang rape, often suffer from haemorrhaging and incontinence,97 as
well as other consequences specifically associated with sexual violence.98 The physical and
mental suffering caused by sexual and gender-based violence is further aggravated by the
nature of the acts, and the ensuing stigmatisation attached to the incidents, affecting the
victims, families and communities.99 Victims accordingly often do not seek required medical
care, or experience substantial barriers to receiving treatment and support.10° They are also
more likely to face additional abuse or harm linked to traditional and cultural practices.’°1
Fear of sexual violence and the anticipated humiliation of being a victim of sexual violence
has been deliberately used as a tool by the Syrian government to extract information,
punish, and humiliate individuals and their families.102
92 Ibid., CDI Report A/HRC/46/54.
CDI, I lost my dignity, supra note 86 at para. 14.
Id., at para. 23.
CDI Report A/HRC/22/59, supra note 58 at para. 107.
CDI, I lost my dignity, supra note 86 at page 5.
‘ Id., at para. 37.
98 Id., at paras. 27-42.
Id., at paras. 93-102.
°° See, for example, CDI Report A/HRC/52/69, supra note 10 at para. 19 where the CDI notes that:
“Stigmatization often also prevents survivors of rape from seeking required medical assistance, physical
protection, psychosocial or economic support and redress. It also renders survivors more likely to face
additional abuse or harm linked to traditional and cultural practices.”
101 Ibid.
102 CDI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 21.
14
Children
46. The torture of children was a precipitating factor of the start of the conflict in Syria.’03 As
noted above, the detention and torture of children accused of anti-government graffiti in
Dar’a,’°4 and the subsequent deaths and recovery of the mutilated bodies of Thamir Al
Sharee and Hamza Au Al Khateeb, ignited the initial protests.105
47. Torture and other CIDTP have an increased traumatic effect on children as victims, above
and beyond the mental and physical suffering experienced by adults.’°6 Numerous accounts
from former detainees indicate that children were detained, some younger than 10 years
old, in various locations run by the military and security forces, and that torture was applied
equally to adults and children.’°7 Cases of children as young as 7 years old dying in Syrian
government custody have also been documented.’°8 One defector recollected that:
people had their feet and hands bound with plastic handcuffs. They were beaten mercilessly,
including 10-year-old children. Some children urinated out of fear while they were being
beaten. It was very cruel.’°9
48. Children have witnessed torture and other CIDTP inflicted on family members and have been
forced to inflict torture on other detainees.”0 For example, one witness detained in 2014
and held in the Qamishli Security Branch, described how a 16-year-old boy was forced to
electrocute the genitals of another detainee.m Such incidents exacerbate the mental
distress experienced by children as a consequence of torture and other CIDTP in detention.
Enforced Disappearance
49. Syria has perpetrated enforced disappearances112 on a widespread and massive scale
following the 2011 demonstrations and ensuing conflict, including to spread fear and stifle
dissent, and as punishment.”3 Tens of thousands are missing after having been taken into
103 See, for example, UN Human Rights Council, Summary of the High-Level Panel Discussion on the Situation of
Human Rights in the Syrian Arab Republic, UN Doc. A/HRC/35/15 (2017) at para. 4: “The High Commissioner
[for Human Rights] highlighted that the conflict had begun with the detention and torture by security officials
of a group of children in Daraa who had daubed anti-government graffiti on a school wall” (Annex 46).
104 CDI Report A/HRC/S-17/2/Add1, supra note 31 at para. 27; and CDI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1.
‘° CDI Report A/HRC/S-17/2/Add.1, supra note 31 at para. 62.
106 UN Human Rights Council, “They have erased the dreams of my children”: children’s rights in the Syrian Arab
Republic, CDI Conference Room Paper 43 Sess., UN Doc. A/HRC/43/CRP.6 (2020) [CDI, They have erased the
dreams of my children] at para. 53, online:
8CD3CF6E4H:96FF9,7D/a hc 43 cp.6pdI (Annex 47).
107 CDI Report A/HRC/S-17/2/Add.1, supra note 31 at para. 72.
108 CDI, They have erased the dreams of my children, supra note 106 at para. 3.
CDI Report A/HRC/S-17/2/Add.1, supra note 31 at para. 72.
110 CDI, They have erased the dreams of my children, supra note 106 at para. 54.
Ibid.
112 See, for example, International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance,
20 December 2006, United Nations, Treaty Series, Vol. 2716, p.3 (entered into force 23 December 2010),
Article 2 (Definition of Enforced Disappearance) (Annex 48).
113 CDI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 18.
15
government custody, and remain forcibly disappeared.114 In a consistent pattern, individuals
were unlawfully detained, and neither they nor their families were informed about where
they would be taken.”5 Individuals have been routinely subjected to incommunicado
detention. These detainees are deprived of contact with the outside world, without the
ability to communicate with anyone, including close relatives.116 These practices place
victims outside the protection of the law.117
50. Enforced disappearance and incommunicado detention often amount to torture and other
CIDTP, and leave disappeared persons in a situation of unique vulnerability when it comes to
their treatment and the conditions of detention. Victims suffer extreme powerlessness and
helplessness, as they are often isolated in undisclosed locations for an undetermined length
of time. The family members of the tens of thousands of missing persons are also victims as
they continue to suffer from a pervasive sense of anguish, distress and uncertainty as to the
whereabouts of their loved ones, or even whether they are still alive.118 The Syrian
government intentionally prolongs the suffering of those families by withholding
information on the fate of their loved ones as a means of both intimidation and
punishment.”°
Syria’s Response to Torture and Other CIDTP
51. The gross, systematic and widespread perpetration of torture and other CIDTP in Syria has
been met with impunity. While Syria’s constitution and criminal laws, including new
legislation adopted in 2022, prohibit all acts of torture or degrading treatment,’2° these laws
are neither enforced, nor implemented in practice. Syria has systematically failed to prevent
or undertake prompt, thorough and impartial investigations of incidents of torture or deaths
in detention.121 Even where visibly ill-treated detainees have appeared before a judge,
courts have consistently failed to order investigations into their cases.122 Moreover,
members of the intelligence services enjoy defacto immunity from prosecution.123
52. Syria has routinely concealed deaths in detention, including as a result of torture and other
CIDTP. Syrian officials have kept meticulous registers of detainees,’24 and are aware of the
114 Id., at para. 15.
115 Id., para. 18.
116 CDI Conference Room Paper, Without a trace: enforced disappearances in Syria, 19 December 2013 [CDI,
Without a trace], at para. 11, online:
_O±LJJ LhL ji I ±LLFLD jzL± cjjLc-p 1 J jD jr
jçff (Annex 49).
117 Id., at paras. 4 and 11.
“ CDI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 78.
“9 Id., at paras. 104-105.
120 CDI Report A/HRC/51/45, supra note 81, at para. 23; UN Human Rights Committee, Fourth periodic report
submitted by the Syrian Arab Republic under article 40 of the Covenant, due in 2009, UN Doc. CCPR/C/SYR/4
(2022) at paras. 37-38 (Annex 50).
121 CDI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 97; see also Out of Sight, Out of Mind, supra note 49 at
para. 40.
122 CDI, Out of Sight, Out of Mind, supra note 49 at para. 89.
123 See, for example, legislative decrees 14/1969 and 69/2008 as noted in CDI Report A/HRC/S-17/2/Add.1,
supra note 31 at para. 22, and most recently, CDI Report A/HRC/52/69, supra note 10 at para. 18.
124 CDI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 27.
16
fate of most of those they have detained.’25 Yet, Syria continues to withhold information,
which has had and continues to have a devastating impact on families.126 Without certainty
of death, next of kin cannot access governmental services such as social benefits or exercise
a range of civil rights which require an official death certificate.127 This is particularly the case
for women who, without a death certificate of their deceased or disappeared spouse,
cannot exercise their rights to inheritance and custody, and who are restricted in their
freedom of movement.128 When death certificates for victims of torture or other CIDTP have
been issued, they routinely purport that the victims died of natural causes, such as “heart
attack.”29
53. Multiple sources indicate that, in many cases, following the registration of deceased
detainees at military hospitals, their bodies are transported and buried in mass graves.130 For
example, multi-year satellite imagery, as well as accounts from defectors and family
members of the deceased, have led to the identification of two specific mass burial sites in
Najha and Qutayfa on the outskirts of Damascus.131
54. Syria’s failure to prevent torture and other CIDTP is also indicative of a failure to implement
and undertake a systematic review of its interrogation rules and other rules governing the
custody of detainees, and a failure to provide effective training regarding the prohibition of
torture and other CIDTP of all officials involved in the custody, interrogation or treatment of
individuals subject to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment. Furthermore, victims
of torture do not have recourse to practical and effective remedies by which they can obtain
redress, an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation, or rehabilitation.”2
55. Syria’s reporting to the Committee remains outstanding since May 2014. Syria has only
submitted its initial report and appeared before the Committee in 2010, providing
comments and follow-up responses to the Committee’s concluding observations in August
2011.133 Syria also did not provide a special report pursuant to Article 19(1) of the
Convention against Torture as requested by the Committee in November 2011, nor did it
engage in the subsequent interactive dialogue with the Committee.’34
125 Id., at para. 104.
126 Ibid.
127 CCI, Death Notifications in the Syrian Arab Republic: Policy Paper, 27 November 2018, [CCI, Death
Notificationsi at paras. 6-7, online:
RBodes/HRCounc/ColSri/DeathNotWca lionsSyrian
(Annex 51).
128 CCI Report A/HRC/46/54, supra note 6 at paras. 62-65.
129 CCI, Death notifications, supra note 127 at paras. 4-5.
‘° CCI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 23.
‘‘ Id., at para. 24.
132 Id., at para. 97.
133 UN Committee against Torture, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties under Article 19 of the
Convention, supra note 32.
134 See UN Committee against Torture, Summary record of the first part (public) of the 1072” meeting, 48th
Sess., UN Dcc. CAT/C/SR.1072 (2012) (Annex 53).
17
Ongoing Violations of Syria’s Obligations under the Convention against Torture
56. Torture and other CIDTP by Syria continues unabated, “without any sign that the
Government intends to discontinue them.”135 Additionally, Syria has still not taken sufficient
and effective measures to prevent or punish the commission of torture. In its most recent
report to the HRC, covering the period between 1 July and 31 December 2022, the COI
reported the following among its findings:
The Commission has reasonable grounds to believe that the Government continued to
commit acts of murder, torture and ill-treatment against persons in detention, including
practices causing death in detention, as well as arbitrary imprisonment and enforced
disappearances, again confirming continuing patterns of crimes against humanity and war
crimes,’36
57. While the present Application does not address torture as constituting either a war crime or
a crime against humanity, and is restricted instead to the context of the Convention against
Torture, it is worth observing that the systematic and widespread use of torture and other
CIDTP by Syria is such that it has led the CDI to conclude that their use by Syria over the past
decade constitute crimes against humanity:
There are reasonable grounds to believe that the Government has continued to carry out a
widespread or systematic attack against the civilian population, in pursuance of a firmly
established policy to commit such acts, comprising the crimes against humanity of murder,
extermination, imprisonment, enforced disappearance, sexual violence and torture, and
other inhumane acts.’37
58. The CDI has further noted that sexual violence in government-controlled detention facilities
amounting to crimes against humanity not only continues countrywide, but has seemingly
increased, and that the impacts of the violence are compounded by a “legal framework
[that] fails to effectively protect victims, including survivors, and constitutes a barrier to
accountability.”138 Other ongoing elements highlighted in the report were the ongoing lack
of due process for detainees, taking of confessions under duress, lack of access to medical
care for detainees, and ongoing lack of access to information regarding the fate of family
members taken into custody.’39
IV. LEGAL GROUNDS FOR THE APPLICANTS’ CLAIMS
59. The Applicants claim that Syria, through its State organs, State agents, and other persons
and entities exercising governmental authority, and through other agents acting on its
instructions or under its direction and control, has committed and continues to commit
multiple violations of the Convention against Torture, in breach of its obligations owed to
“ CDI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 102.
136 CDI Report A/HRC/52/69, supra note 10 at para. 61.
“ CDI Report A/HRC/46/55, supra note 1 at para. 87.
138 CDI Report A/HRC/52/69, supra note 10 at para. 18.
Ibid., at paras. 55-60.
18
the Applicants as States Parties to the Convention against Torture. These include but are not
limited to:
a. committing acts of torture, as defined by Article 1, and in violation of Article 2;
b. failing to take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent
torture, in violation of Article 2(1);
c. committing other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in
violation of Article 16;
d. failing to take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent
other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in violation of
Article 16;
e. failing to submit cases involving torture and attempted torture to its competent
authorities for the purpose of prosecution, in violation of Article 7;
f. failing to ensure appropriate education, information and instruction for persons who
may be involved in the custody, interrogation or treatment of individuals subject to
arrest, detention or imprisonment, in violation of Article 10 and Article 16;
g. failing to systematically review interrogation rules, instructions, methods and practices,
as well as arrangement for the custody and treatment of individuals subject to arrest,
detention or imprisonment, in violation of Article 11 and Article 16;
h. failing to ensure prompt and impartial investigations wherever there are reasonable
grounds to believe that an act of torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment or punishment has been committed, in violation of Article 12 and Article 16;
i. failing to ensure the right of individuals alleged to have been subjected to torture or
other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment to complain to, and have
their cases promptly and impartially examined by, its competent authorities, as well as
to take steps to ensure that complainants and witnesses are protected against all illtreatment
or intimidation, in violation of Article 13 and Article 16;
j. failing to ensure in its legal system that victims of torture obtain redress and have an
enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation, including the means for as full
rehabilitation as possible, and for compensation to dependants of victims who died as a
result of torture, in violation of Article 14;
k. failing to ensure that statements established to have been made as a result of torture
are not invoked as evidence in proceedings, except against a person accused of torture
as evidence that the statement was made, in violation of Article 15; and
I. failing to submit supplementary reports on the measures taken to give effect to their
undertakings under the Convention against Torture to the Committee against Torture, in
violation of Article 19.
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lv. THE RELIEF SOUGHT
60. The Applicants respectfully request the Court to adjudge and declare that Syria:
a. has breached, and continues to breach, its obligations under the Convention against
Torture, in particular those in Articles 2, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 19;
b. must fully accept its responsibility for those internationally wrongful acts;
c. must cease any such ongoing violations forthwith and comply with its obligations
under the Convention against Torture;
d. must provide appropriate assurances and guarantees of non-repetition of violations
of the Convention against Torture;
e. must investigate and where warranted, prosecute and punish those responsible for
acts of torture, while also guaranteeing fair treatment at all stages of the
proceedings for any person against whom proceedings are brought; and
f. must provide individual victims full reparation, including compensation and
rehabilitation, for the injury they have suffered as a consequence of those
internationally wrongful acts.
61. The applicants further respectfully request the Court to adjudge and declare that Syria has
committed a serious breach of a peremptory norm of international law, due to its gross or
systematic failure to fulfill its obligation under Article 2 of the Convention against Torture
not to commit torture as well as to prevent its officials and other persons acting in an official
capacity from perpetrating acts of torture, and determine the legal consequences thereof.
V. APPOINTMENT OF A JUDGE AD Hoc
62. In accordance with Article 35(1), of the Rules of the Court, the Applicants give notice of their
intention to exercise the right to choose a judge ad hoc pursuant to Article 31(3) of the
Statute. In light of Article 31(5) of the Statute, the Applicants will choose a single judge ad
hoc.
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VI. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS
63. The Applicants reserve the right to revise, supplement or amend this Application, including
as regards the grounds invoked and the relief sought.
VII. APPOINTMENT OF AGENTS
64. The Government of Canada has appointed the undersigned as Agent for the purposes of the
present Application. Ms. Carolyn Knobel, Director General and Deputy Legal Adviser, Global
Affairs Canada, is Deputy Agent. It is requested that all communications in this case be sent
to the following address:
Embassy of Canada
Sophialaan 7
2514JP The Hague
The Netherlands
65. The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has appointed the undersigned as
Agent for the purposes of the present Application. Ms Annemarieke Künzli, Legal Counsel,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is Co-Agent. It is requested
that all communications in this case be sent to the following address:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
International Law Division
Rijnstraat 8
2515XP The Hague
The Netherlands
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This Application is respectfully submitted on behalf of Canada and the Kingdom of the
Netherlands.
(Signed) Mr. Alan H. KESSEL,
Agent of the Government of Canada
(Signed) Dr. René J.M. LEFEBER,
Agent of the Government of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands
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CERTIFICATION
The Applicants certify that the documents attached by way of Annexes are true copies of the originals
thereof and that all the translations of annexes submitted herewith are, to the best of their knowledge
and belief, a true and correct rendering of the text in the original language.
(Signed) Mr. Alan H. KESSEL,
Agent of the Government of Canada
(Signed) Dr. RenéJ.M. LEFEBER,
Agent of the Government of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Joint Application instituting proceedings