UN’s Top Court Opens Genocide Case Against Myanmar Over Rohingya Persecution

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday opened hearings in a landmark case accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against its predominantly Muslim Rohingya minority.

The case was filed in 2019 by The Gambia at the United Nations’ top court, two years after a sweeping military offensive in Myanmar’s Rakhine state forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee their homes and seek refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh.

The hearings, which are scheduled to run for three weeks, will conclude on January 29.

“The ICJ must secure justice for the persecuted Rohingya. This process should not take much longer, as we all know that justice delayed is justice denied,” said Asma Begum, a Rohingya refugee who has been living in the Kutupalong camp in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district since 2017.

The Rohingya, a mostly Muslim ethnic minority, have lived for centuries in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state. However, they were stripped of citizenship under a 1980s law and have since faced decades of systemic discrimination, violence, and exclusion.

In 2017 alone, an estimated 750,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh following what the United Nations has described as a “textbook case of ethnic cleansing” carried out by Myanmar’s military.

Today, approximately 1.3 million Rohingya are sheltering in 33 refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, making it the largest refugee settlement in the world.

“We experienced horrific acts such as arson, killings and rape in 2017, and fled to Bangladesh,” Begum told Arab News. “I believe the ICJ verdict will pave the way for our repatriation to our homeland. The world should not forget us.”

A UN fact-finding mission has concluded that Myanmar’s 2017 military campaign included “genocidal acts,” a charge strongly denied by the Myanmar government, which maintains that the operation was aimed at rooting out militants.

Despite the years-long wait, many Rohingya refugees say the ICJ proceedings have renewed their hope for justice and a dignified future.

“We also have the right to live with dignity. I want to return to my homeland and live the rest of my life on my ancestral land,” said Syed Ahmed, who fled Myanmar in 2017 and is raising his four children in the Kutupalong camp. “My children will reconnect with their roots and be able to build their own future.”

“Despite the delay, I am optimistic that the perpetrators will be held accountable through the ICJ verdict. It will set a strong precedent for the world,” he added.

The Myanmar case marks the first genocide trial to be heard by the ICJ in more than a decade. Legal experts say its outcome could also have broader implications, including for the ongoing genocide case involving Israel over its war in Gaza.

“The momentum of this case at the ICJ will send a strong message to all parts of the world where crimes against humanity have been committed,” said Nur Khan, a Bangladeshi lawyer and human rights activist.

“The ICJ will play a significant role in ensuring justice for accusations of genocide elsewhere, including the genocide and crimes against humanity committed by Israel against the people of Gaza,” he told Arab News.