UN’s top court to hold Myanmar genocide hearings in January

Witnesses from Myanmar’s Rohingya assemblage volition besides code closed-door ICJ hearing.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) volition clasp nationalist hearings successful a landmark lawsuit adjacent period accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against its Rohingya community, the apical United Nations tribunal said.

The proceedings are expected to acceptable precedents that could impact South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel implicit the warfare successful Gaza, arsenic this volition beryllium the archetypal genocide lawsuit the ICJ has heard connected its merits successful much than a decade.

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In the archetypal week of hearings, The Gambia, a predominantly Muslim West African state which brought the lawsuit to the ICJ, volition outline its arguments from January 12 to 15.

Backed by the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation, The Gambia filed the lawsuit astatine the ICJ successful 2019, accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against the mostly Muslim Rohingya taste group.

Myanmar, which has denied carrying retired genocide, tin past contiguous its lawsuit earlier the tribunal from January 16 to January 20.

In an antithetic move, the ICJ has besides allocated 3 days for proceeding witnesses. These hearings volition beryllium closed to the nationalist and media.

“The hearings volition beryllium devoted to the merits of the lawsuit and volition see the introspection of witnesses and an adept called by the Parties,” the ICJ said successful a statement.

Filed by The Gambia to the UN’s apical tribunal successful 2019, the lawsuit accuses authorities successful Myanmar of violating the UN genocide normal during a brutal crackdown by the country’s service and Buddhist militias connected the Rohingya successful 2017.

More than 742,000 Rohingya fled the bloodshed, portion witnesses reported murders, rape and full villages burned to the ground.

As a result, the ICJ, which rules connected disputes betwixt countries, ordered Myanmar successful 2020 to “take each measures wrong its power” to forestall a genocide.

People ticker the ICJ proceeding astatine a edifice successful a Rohingya exile campy connected January 23, 2020, successful Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh [Allison Joyce/Getty Images]

Speaking astatine a peculiar high-level United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) gathering connected the concern of the Rohingya successful September this year, The Gambia’s Minister of Justice Dawda Jallow said helium hoped to spot a judgement from the tribunal “soon after” January’s nationalist hearings.

“We filed our lawsuit successful November 2019, astir six years ago. Now, we are preparing for the oral proceeding connected the merits successful this case, which the tribunal has scheduled for mid-January 2026,” Jallow said.

“The Gambia volition contiguous its lawsuit arsenic to wherefore Myanmar is liable for the Rohingya genocide and indispensable marque reparations to its victims,” helium added.

Wai Wai Nu, enforcement manager of the Women’s Peace Network-Myanmar, told Al Jazeera successful September that the fig of countries that person intervened successful enactment of The Gambia’s lawsuit astatine the ICJ is “actually precise powerful”.

“They could travel unneurotic and bash thing to halt ongoing atrocities successful Rakhine State,” wherever armed violence against the Rohingya is ongoing, Wai Wai Nu said, adding that the UN Security Council could besides instrumentality enactment without waiting for the ICJ.

About one cardinal Rohingya lived successful Myanmar anterior to 2017 – making up a tiny percent of the country’s colonisation of 55 cardinal radical – and full communities fled crossed the neighbouring borderline into Bangladesh arsenic the subject run of taste cleansing ramped up.

Now, much than 1 cardinal Rohingya unrecorded successful the world’s largest exile campy successful Cox’s Bazar, crossed the borderline successful Bangladesh, which has been pressing for different governments to measurement successful and enarthrosis the load of hosting immense numbers of refugees.

Many of the refugees person been surviving successful impoverished conditions successful the campy for years, portion others person faced perilous journeys connected boats successful a bid to scope different countries.