Qatar: Countries that have imposed a blockade will be brought to justice

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest court of the UN, ruled Tuesday in favor of Qatar in a quarrel between the emirate to three other Gulf states and Egypt. In June 2017, the four allies imposed an air "blockade" against their neighbor in Doha.

Qatar immediately welcomed the decision, saying that the countries that have imposed an air blockade will have to explain themselves to justice. "We welcome the decision made today by the ICJ that will see states that impose a blockade finally brought to justice for violating international aviation rules," said Qatari Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim. Saif Ahmed al-Soulaiti, in a press release.

The ICJ judges “unanimously rejected” a request from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. A key element in the three-year conflict. They asked the United Nations judiciary to overturn a decision made in favor of Doha in 2018 by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a UN agency.

“Tainted” decision

The emirate of the Gulf had seized the agency of the United Nations to obtain the reopening to the companies of the country of air corridors of the Gulf which were closed to it because of the diplomatic crisis opened with its neighbors. He accused the four countries of violating an agreement regulating the freedom of movement of commercial aircraft in foreign airspace. ICAO had decided in 2018 to have legal jurisdiction to deal with this case.

The four allies immediately expressed their disagreement, saying that ICAO was not the proper forum to settle the dispute. They considered that his decision was "manifestly flawed and contrary to the fundamental principles of due process and the right to be heard".

This Tuesday, the judges of the ICJ, by 15 votes to one, estimated that the ICAO had good competence, and that the request of Qatar “is admissible”, declared the presiding judge of the Court, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf.

Isolation

The four states cut all ties to Qatar in mid-2017, which they accused of "financing terrorism" and supporting Iran - despite Doha's denials - and imposed punitive measures. The Emirates and Qatar, the “enemy brothers” of the Gulf, have been at loggerheads ever since. They banned Qatari planes at their airports and airspace, cut commercial and maritime links and closed their borders.

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In June, the emirate of the Gulf reiterated accusations that the clan of four refuses, under the aegis of Saudi Arabia, to make efforts to resolve the quarrel which, according to Qatar, does the business of the United States. United.