It is the first ruling by the UN’s top court on the Gulf crisis.

The International Court of Justice has ordered the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to immediately allow Qatari-UAE mixed families, who were separated by the blockade on Qatar, to reunite.

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism, a charge Doha strongly rejects.

Qatar filed a case at the ICJ in June this year, arguing the UAE had violated an international convention on racism when it expelled thousands of Qatari citizens during the first weeks of the crisis.

Monday’s ruling was a preliminary finding and the final decision on the case is not expected for months.

But what impact will this have on the Gulf crisis and the region?

Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault

Guests:

Abdulaziz Alhorr – contributor to Policy-making in a Transformative State: The Case of Qatar

Toby Cadman – international human rights lawyer

Afzal Ashraf – visiting fellow at the Centre for Conflict, Security and Terrorism at the University of Nottingham

Source: Al Jazeera News