THE HAGUE, July 7 (Reuters) - The World Court on July 19 and 20 will hear a request by the Netherlands and Canada that it order Syria to cease all acts of torture and arbitrary detention, as part of a case alleging the country has breached a U.N. anti-torture treaty. The hearing at the Peace Palace, the court's seat in the Hague, will mark the first time an international court has looked at alleged abuses committed in Syria during 12 years of conflict. The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, announced last month that the Netherlands and Canada had filed a case against Damascus for breaching the U.N. convention against torture since 2011. The case at the ICJ, the U.N.'s highest court, is the first time an international court will hear a case trying to hold the Assad government accountable for gross human rights violations and torture. Syria's 12-year civil war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions and drawn in regional and world powers.

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Persons: Bashar al, Assad, Toby Cadman, Stephanie van den Berg, William Maclean Organizations: HAGUE, Court of Justice, Court, United Nations, ICJ, Thomson Locations: Netherlands, Canada, Syria, Hague, Damascus, Germany