Why The Gambia wants Myanmar punished for Rohingya genocide

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The Gambia’s landmark case, accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against its mostly Muslim Rohingya minority, began successful the International Court of Justice (ICJ) this week.

The Gambia’s lawyer wide and justness minister, Dawda A Jallow, told ICJ judges connected Monday that the Rohingya were “targeted for destruction” by Myanmar’s government, arsenic the case’s last proceeding opened astir a decennary aft the country’s subject launched an violative that forced immoderate 750,000 Rohingya from their homes, mostly into neighbouring Bangladesh. The refugees recounted wide killings, rape and arson attacks.

Why is The Gambia suing Myanmar?

The Gambia sued Myanmar successful November 2019, accusing the Southeast Asian state of committing genocide against the Rohingya successful breach of the 1948 Genocide Convention.

As a Muslim-majority country, the tiny West African federation of 2.5 cardinal radical brought the lawsuit connected behalf of the 57-member Organisation for Islamic Cooperation, of which it is an progressive member.

The determination catapulted the state and the case’s mastermind, erstwhile Attorney General Abubacarr Tambadou, into the planetary spotlight. Tambadou has since taken a presumption astatine the United Nations – helium is the Registrar of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, an planetary tribunal founded by the United Nations Security Council. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize successful 2021.

Seven countries – Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, the Maldives, France and Britain – person since successfully applied to enactment The Gambia’s lawsuit astatine the ICJ.

Rohingya radical successful Myanmar were subjected to violent, months-long offensives by Myanmar’s equipped forces, known arsenic the Tatmadaw, from precocious 2016. Although the radical had agelong faced persecution successful Myanmar, according to rights groups, the attacks escalated sharply, arsenic Rohingya communities were targeted successful cases of arson, wide shootings, rapes and kidnappings.

In 2019 – the twelvemonth The Gambia lodged its lawsuit with the ICJ – a United Nations fact-finding ngo reported that astir 10,000 radical had been killed, and 730,000 radical displaced to exile camps successful neighbouring Bangladesh. The subject violative showed “genocidal intent” and the authorities aimed to “erase” Rohingya individuality and region them from Myanmar, the United Nations ngo found.

The Gambia whitethorn person been inspired to instrumentality up the lawsuit owed to its ain agelong past of repression nether erstwhile dictator Yahya Jammeh, who ruled the state with an robust fist for 22 years until 2017, Imran Darboe, a barrister formerly with the Gambian justness ministry, told Al Jazeera.

Jammeh was forced retired of bureau successful 2017 by a determination subject ngo erstwhile helium failed to permission bureau aft losing the statesmanlike elections.

In 2018, the caller authorities began investigating Jammeh-era atrocities perpetrated by his “killer squad” information forces, including wide abductions and killings.

Gambians were collectively reckoning with the achy testimonies of scores of victims arsenic the Rohingya situation unfolded, prompting the authorities to instrumentality action, contempt a deficiency of precedent astatine the ICJ astatine the time.

“At that point, we were besides going done our truth-and-reconciliation commission, and realising the worth of protecting quality rights,” Darboe said.

“Most radical [in The Gambia] were shocked by what was being revealed, truthful determination was the reasoning that if the conception of quality rights is universal, we cannot conscionable absorption connected our ain issues. We consciousness what the Rohingya radical were feeling … we were each connected the aforesaid leafage astir that.”

The Gambia’s progressive relation successful the OIC besides apt played a ample role, Darboe added. While bringing an ICJ lawsuit would beryllium costly for the tiny nation, the OIC’s backing apt alleviates fiscal pressures, helium said.

What is The Gambia’s statement astatine the ICJ?

Dawda, The Gambia’s justness minister, told the ICJ judges successful his opening arguments connected Monday that the Rohingya had been “deliberately targeted” by Myanmar’s ruling subject and that their lives had been turned upside down.

“They person been targeted for destruction,” helium said.

“Myanmar has denied them their dream, successful information it turned their lives into a nightmare, subjecting them to the astir horrific unit and demolition 1 could imagine.”

Paul Reichler, different lawyer connected the Gambian team, work retired extended witnesser grounds from 2017, describing scenes of houses being acceptable ablaze with radical successful them, pack rapes and arbitrary killings.

The Myanmar government, Reichler added, had called the Rohingya an “impure and subhuman race” that threatened the section population.

A 3rd squad member, Phillipe Sand, concluded that the standard of the unit showed “Myanmar acted successful this lawsuit with genocidal intent”.

Rohingya refugees instrumentality portion successful the 'Genocide Remembrance Day' rally to people the day of their wide exodus from Myanmar

What has Myanmar argued?

Myanmar’s defence team, led by the curate of planetary cooperation, Ko Ko Hlaing, volition statesman its effect to the allegations connected Friday, January 16, continuing until January 20.

In 2019, erstwhile the lawsuit was filed, Myanmar was nether civilian rule. In preliminary hearings for the lawsuit successful December that year, Myanmar denied the allegations. Former person and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, who was overthrown successful a subject coup successful 2021, personally appeared astatine the tribunal and called The Gambia’s claims “incomplete and misleading”.

In January 2020, the ICJ ordered Myanmar to instrumentality exigency measures to forestall a genocide of Rohingya, successful what experts called a “stunning rebuke” of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Myanmar’s authorities – present nether the power of the military, which is besides grappling with an ongoing rebellion – continues to cull genocide and taste cleansing allegations, and says it was targeting Rohingya equipped groups successful “clearance operations”.

Aid cuts propulsion Rohingya girls into marriage, labor, and exploitation

Who are the Rohingya?

The Rohingya are a mostly Muslim taste radical based chiefly successful Myanmar’s occidental Rakhine State, which sits connected the borderline with Bangladesh.

Until their forced displacement successful 2017, determination were astir 1 cardinal Rohingya successful Myanmar, making them an taste number among Myanmar’s 137 taste groups. Other Rohingya populations unrecorded successful India, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Although Rohingya place arsenic Indigenous to Myanmar, the authorities does not recognise them and maintains they are “illegal migrants” from Bangladesh.

Rohingya person agelong complained of state-sanctioned attacks and wide favoritism – they are not granted citizenship and laws severely restrict their movement. Several equipped groups person emerged, calling for an autarkic Arakan state, a humanities sanction for Rakhine authorities and reminiscent of the vanished Arakan Empire which existed successful the aforesaid country betwixt the 4th and 13th centuries.

In October 2016, convulsive attacks connected Rohingya radical escalated sharply erstwhile the authorities launched attacks it said were targeting the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), an equipped radical formed successful 2013.

At slightest 750,000 Rohingya fled, chiefly to Bangladesh, but besides to India, Thailand and Malaysia.

Survivors person recounted fearfulness stories of information officials torching their communities, wounding, sidesplitting and torturing radical – including children – by throwing them into fires.

Many fled crossed onshore done unsafe forests, portion others crossed the Bay of Bengal connected perilous vessel journeys, which person resulted successful an chartless fig of deaths.

By 2025, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya were surviving successful squalid, packed structure camps successful Bangladesh’s Cox Bazar.

Most are reliant connected humanitarian aid. Recent cuts successful overseas assistance backing by the United States authorities person severely deed missions serving these communities, rights groups say, with reduced nutrient rations and the closure of schools for children.

Some person attempted to permission the campy by vessel journeys for different countries. In May 2025, the UN reported that 2 boats carrying 427 Rohingya fleeing Bangladesh and Rakhine authorities capsized astatine sea, successful conscionable 1 example.

While the Bangladesh authorities has willingly received fleeing Rohingya refugees, the state maintains that the Rohingya indispensable yet instrumentality to Myanmar.

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