Gambia accuses Myanmar of genocide against Rohingya at the International Court of Justice, citing a 2017 crackdown that forced hundreds of thousands to flee.
THE HAGUE: Myanmar’s military deliberately targeted the Rohingya minority in a bid to destroy the community, Gambia’s Justice Minister told the International Court of Justice.
“It is not about esoteric issues of international law. It is about real people, real stories and a real group of human beings. The Rohingya of Myanmar. They have been targeted for destruction,” Dawda Jallow told ICJ judges.
The Gambia brought the case accusing Myanmar of breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention during a crackdown in 2017.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled violence by the Myanmar army and Buddhist militias, escaping to neighbouring Bangladesh.
They brought harrowing accounts of mass rape, arson and murder from the 2017 violence.
Jallow said they were subjected to “the most horrific violence and destruction one could imagine.”
Today, 1.17 million Rohingya live crammed into dilapidated camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
From there, mother-of-two Janifa Begum said she wanted to see if the hearing reflected their suffering.
“We want justice and peace,” said the 37-year-old.
A final decision could take months or even years.
While the ICJ has no means of enforcing its decisions, a ruling in favour of The Gambia would heap more political pressure on Myanmar.
The Gambia, a Muslim-majority country in West Africa, brought the case in 2019 to the ICJ, which rules in disputes between states.
Under the Genocide Convention, any country can file a case at the ICJ against any other it believes is in breach of the treaty.
In 2019, Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi appeared herself to defend her country.
She dismissed Banjul’s argument as a “misleading and incomplete factual picture” of what she said was an “internal armed conflict”.
Myanmar has always maintained the crackdown by its armed forces was justified to root out Rohingya insurgents.
Suu Kyi will not be revisiting the court, as she has been detained since a 2021 coup.
The ICJ initially sided with The Gambia, which had asked judges for provisional measures to halt the violence.
In 2020, the court said Myanmar must take “all measures within its power” to halt any acts prohibited in the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
The United States officially declared that the violence amounted to genocide in 2022.
The hearings, which wrap up on January 29, represent the heart of the case.
The ICJ is not the only court looking into possible genocide against the Rohingya.
The International Criminal Court is investigating military chief Min Aung Hlaing for suspected crimes against humanity.
Another case is being heard in Argentina under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
Outside the court, Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, said they had been waiting for justice for many years.
“What’s happening to the Rohingya is genocide, intentionally destroying our community. And we want to get justice,” he added.
