Belgium introduced a genocide law with universal jurisdiction and repealed it within ten years.

Omissions

• The original 1993 law covered war crimes (grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol I); universal jurisdiction over genocide and crimes against humanity was only added by the 1999 amendment. The 'genocide law' label therefore strictly applies only to the 1999–2003 period (about four years), even though the law as a whole spanned 1993–2003.
• The law was repealed by the Act of 5 August 2003, i.e. about ten years and seven weeks after the Law of 16 June 1993 — 'within ten years' is a very close approximation rather than an exact description.
• The repeal was driven by diplomatic pressure from the United States (including the threat to move NATO headquarters and the Rumsfeld/Sharon cases) and by concerns over abuse of the complaints procedure; the characterisation that the law 'marginalised Belgium in world politics' is the speaker's political interpretation, not a measurable fact.
• No source found is dated on or before the session date describing the event in these exact terms; the underlying legal facts are documented in legal/academic literature and contemporary human-rights reporting.

Sources

• PrimaryUnited Nations GA Sixth Committee — Observations by Belgium on the scope and application of universal jurisdiction"The act of 5 August 2003 on grave violations of international humanitarian law preserves intact the substantive law of the 1993 and 1999 acts by including in [the Criminal Code]"
• AcademicYearbook of International Humanitarian Law (Cambridge University Press) — 'Universal jurisdiction: lessons from the Belgian experience'"Belgium's controversial anti-atrocity law was repealed on 5 August 2003, ten years after entering into force." / "Belgium was variously praised, criticized and ridiculed for its 1993 law (as amended in 1999) giving it universal jurisdiction over war [crimes]"
• SecondaryICRC Casebook — Belgium, Law on Universal Jurisdiction"The Law of 16 June 1993 was repealed on 5 August 2003." / "That revision made two important amendments: on the one hand, the universal jurisdiction of Belgian judges was extended to the crime of genocide and to crimes [against humanity]"
• SecondaryHuman Rights Watch — 'Belgium: Universal Jurisdiction Law Repealed' (press release)"Belgium's 1993 universal jurisdiction law, which permitted victims to file complaints in Belgium for atrocities committed abroad, had made ..." (announcement of the repeal in August 2003)
• SecondaryTRIAL International — 'Universal Jurisdiction: Law and Practice in Belgium'"The law of 5 August 2003 introduced the offence of genocide ..." (into the Belgian Criminal Code, replacing the 1993/1999 universal jurisdiction acts)