"in its own right and as parens patriae of its citizens, respectfully requests the Court to adjudge and declare that the UAE, 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 violated its obligations under Articles 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the CERD by taking, inter alia, the following unlawful actions:
(a) Expelling, on a collective basis, all Qataris from, and prohibiting the entry of all Qataris into, the UAE on the basis of their national origin;
(b) Violating other fundamental rights, including the rights to marriage and choice of spouse, freedom of opinion and expression, public health and medical care, education and training, property, work, participation in cultural activities, and equal treatment before tribunals;
(c) Failing to condemn and instead encouraging racial hatred against Qatar and Qataris and failing to take measures that aim to combat prejudices, including by inter alia : criminalizing the expression of sympathy toward Qatar and Qataris; allowing, promoting, and financing an international anti-Qatar public and social-media campaign; silencing Qatari media; and calling for physical attacks on Qatari entities; and
(d) Failing to provide effective protection and remedies to Qataris to seek redress against acts of racial discrimination through UAE courts and institutions."
Accordingly,
"Qatar respectfully requests the Court to order the UAE to take all steps necessary to comply with its obligations under CERD and, inter alia :
(a) Immediately cease and revoke the Discriminatory Measures, including but not limited to the directives against 'sympathizing' with Qataris, and any other national laws that discriminate de jure or de facto against Qataris on the basis of their national origin;
(b) Immediately cease all other measures that incite discrimination (including media campaigns and supporting others to propagate discriminatory messages) and criminalize such measures;
(c) Comply with its obligations under the CERD to condemn publicly racial discrimination against Qataris, pursue a policy of eliminating racial discrimination, and adopt measures to combat such prejudice;
(d) Refrain from taking any further measures that would discriminate against Qataris within its jurisdiction or control;
(e) Restore rights of Qataris to, inter alia, marriage and choice of spouse, freedom of opinion and expression, public health and medical care, education and training, property, work, participation in cultural activities, and equal treatment before tribunals, and put in place measures to ensure those rights are respected;
(f) Provide assurances and guarantees of non-repetition of the UAE's illegal conduct; and
(g) Make full reparation, including compensation, for the harm suffered as a result of the UAE's actions in violation of the CERD."
"(1) The United Arab Emirates must ensure that
(i) families that include a Qatari, separated by the measures adopted by the United Arab Emirates on 5 June 2017, are reunited;
(ii) Qatari students affected by the measures adopted by the United Arab Emirates on 5 June 2017 are given the opportunity to complete their education in the United Arab Emirates or to obtain their educational records if they wish to continue their studies elsewhere; and
(iii) Qataris affected by the measures adopted by the United Arab Emirates on 5 June 2017 are allowed access to tribunals and other judicial organs of the United Arab Emirates;
(2) Both Parties shall refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the Court or make it more difficult to resolve."
"(i) Qatar immediately withdraw its Communication submitted to the CERD Committee pursuant to Article 11 of the CERD on 8 March 2018 against the UAE and take all necessary measures to terminate consideration thereof by the CERD Committee;
(ii) Qatar immediately desist from hampering the UAE's attempts to assist Qatari citizens, including by un-blocking in its territory access to the website by which Qatari citizens can apply for a permit to return to the UAE;
(iii) Qatar immediately stop its national bodies and its State-owned, controlled and funded media outlets from aggravating and extending the dispute and making it more difficult to resolve by disseminating false accusations regarding the UAE and the issues in dispute before the Court; and
(iv) Qatar refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the Court or make it more difficult to resolve."
On behalf of the UAE:
H.E. Ms Hissa Abdullah Ahmed Al-Otaiba,
Mr. Robert G. Volterra,
Mr. W. Michael Reisman,
Mr. Dan Sarooshi,
Ms Maria Fogdestam-Agius.
On behalf of Qatar:
Mr. Mohammed Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi,
Mr. Vaughan Lowe,
Mr. Lawrence H. Martin,
Ms Catherine Amirfar,
Mr. Pierre Klein.
"(i) Qatar immediately withdraw its Communication submitted to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination pursuant to Article 11 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination on 8 March 2018 against the UAE and take all necessary measures to terminate consideration thereof by that Committee;
(ii) Qatar immediately desist from hampering the UAE's attempts to assist Qatari citizens, including by un-blocking in its territory access to the website by which Qatari citizens can apply for a permit to return to the UAE;
(iii) Qatar immediately stop its national bodies and its State-owned, controlled and funded media outlets from aggravating and extending the dispute and making it more difficult to resolve by disseminating false accusations regarding the UAE and the issues in dispute before the Court; and
(iv) Qatar refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the Court or make it more difficult to resolve."
"Although the Parties disagree as to whether negotiations and recourse to the procedures referred to in Article 22 of CERD constitute alternative or cumulative preconditions to be fulfilled before the seisin of the Court, the Court is of the view that it need not make a pronouncement on the issue at this stage of the proceedings... Nor does it consider it necessary, for the present purposes, to decide whether any electa una via principle or lis pendens exception are applicable in the present situation." (Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Qatar v. United Arab Emirates), Provisional Measures, Order of 23 July 2018, I.C.J Reports 2018 (II), pp. 420-421, para. 39.)
The Court does not see any reason to depart from these views at the current stage of the proceedings in this case.
THE COURT,
By fifteen votes to one,
Rejects the Request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by the United Arab Emirates on 22 March 2019.
IN FAVOUR: President Yusuf; Vice-President Xue; Judges Tomka, Abraham, Bennouna, Cancado Trindade, Donoghue, Gaja, Bhandari, Robinson, Crawford, Gevorgian, Salam, Iwasawa; Judge ad hoc Daudet;
AGAINST: Judge ad hoc Cot.
Done in English and in French, the English text being authoritative, at the Peace Palace, The Hague, this fourteenth day of June, two thousand and nineteen, in three copies, one of which will be placed in the archives of the Court and the others transmitted to the Government of the State of Qatar and the Government of the United Arab Emirates, respectively.
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