Thank you Mr. President,

The Kingdom of the Netherlands aligns itself with the EU and expresses its deepest appreciation for the Commission of Inquiry.

The Netherlands strongly condemns the Syrian regime’s ongoing and
systematic use of torture and ill-treatment in detention facilities. The latest COI report provides a stark reminder that these brutal practices continue unabated. This must come to an end, and truth and justice must be delivered.

In light of the documentation of these ongoing human rights violations, the Netherlands recalls the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures order in the case brought by Canada and the Netherlands against Syria under the Convention against Torture. The order indicated that Syria must prevent torture and ill-treatment, ensure that its officials and those under its control do not commit such acts, and preserve related evidence.

We are also deeply disturbed by the Commission’s findings that Syrians returning were detained and disappeared and the regime’s continued obstruction of families’ efforts to find their arbitrarily detained relatives, forcing families to pay bribes in exchange for information, visits or releases.

Dear members of the Commission, in light of the ongoing human rights violations documented in your latest report, what concrete actions can the international community take to pressure Syria to comply with the ICJ’s order?