Reject Myanmar's Objection, International Criminal Court Continues Rohingya Muslim Genocide Case

Rohingya refugee camp in Cox Bazar, Bangladesh. (Wikimedia Commons/Tauheed)

JAKARTA - The World Court on Friday rejected Myanmar's objection to a genocide case over its treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority, paving the way for the case to be heard in full.

Myanmar, now ruled by a military junta that seized power in 2021, argues Gambia, which filed the lawsuit, has no standing to do so in the United Nations' top court, officially known as the International Criminal Court (ICJ) or the International Court of Justice.

However, Presiding Judge Joan Donoghue said all states that have signed the 1948 Genocide Convention can and should act to prevent genocide, and courts have jurisdiction in the case.

"Gambia, as a state party to the genocide convention, has stood up," he said, reading the summary of the 13-judge panel's ruling.

The court will now proceed to hear the merits of the case, a process that will take years.

The Gambia took over the Rohingya struggle in 2019, backed by the 57-nation Organization for Islamic Cooperation, in a lawsuit aimed at holding Myanmar to account and preventing further bloodshed.

Gambia's Justice Minister Dawda Jallow said outside the courtroom she was "very happy" with the decision and was confident the lawsuit would prevail.

The Gambia became involved after his predecessor, Abubacarr Tambadou, a former prosecutor at the UN Rwandan tribunal, visited a refugee camp in Bangladesh and said stories he heard evoked memories of the genocide in Rwanda.

Meanwhile, a representative for Myanmar said that the country would do its "best" to protect the country's "national interests" in further proceedings.

Protesters outside the court gates waved red banners with the text "Free Burma" and shouted at cars carrying junta representatives to leave the building after the ruling.

A UN fact-finding mission concluded that Myanmar's 2017 military campaign that drove 730,000 Rohingya into neighboring Bangladesh was an "act of genocide".

Myanmar has denied genocide, dismissing the UN findings as "biased and flawed". It says its crackdown is aimed at Rohingya insurgents who have carried out attacks.

While The Hague court decisions are binding and countries generally follow them, there is no way to enforce them.

In a 2020 interim ruling, he ordered Myanmar to protect the Rohingya from harm, a legal victory that establishes their rights under international law as a protected minority.

But Rohingya groups and rights activists say there has been no meaningful effort to end their systemic persecution. Rohingya are still denied citizenship and freedom of movement in Myanmar. Tens of thousands have now been locked up in squalid refugee camps for a decade.