The Dutch government announced Friday it is holding Syria responsible under international law for “gross human rights violations,” in a process that could ultimately trigger a case at the United Nations’ highest court. The Dutch initiative, invoking the U.N. Convention against Torture, is the latest attempt to hold President Bashar Assad’s government accountable amid widespread reports it is mistreating its own citizens against the backdrop of the country’s grinding civil war. “The Assad regime has not hesitated to crack down hard on its own population, using torture and chemical weapons, and bombing hospitals,” Foreign Minister Stef Blok said in a statement.