UN court to rule on Nov 19 in Rohingya genocide case against Myanmar
The International Court of Justice will rule on November 19 on whether Myanmar's crackdown on the Rohingya was genocide. The case was brought by The Gambia in 2019.
- The ICJ will deliver its judgment on November 19 at 10 am local time in The Hague.
- The Gambia accuses Myanmar of breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention.
- Myanmar denies genocide and says it was responding to an insurgent uprising.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the top United Nations court, will on November 19 deliver a ruling on whether Myanmar's crackdown on its mostly Muslim Rohingya minority amounted to genocide. Officials announced the date on Tuesday.
According to Anadolu Agency, the judgment is scheduled for 10 am local time in The Hague, Netherlands.
The case was filed by The Gambia in 2019. It accuses Myanmar of violating its obligations under the 1948 UN Genocide Convention during military operations against the Rohingya. Anadolu reported that 11 states have intervened in the proceedings. Judges have been weighing the accusations for seven years.
Myanmar denies carrying out genocide. It says its actions targeted a military uprising by insurgents, after attacks left a dozen security personnel dead, according to Gulf News.
The crackdown by the Myanmar army and Buddhist militias forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. Anadolu said more than 700,000 Rohingya fled Rakhine State after the military crackdown in August 2017, mostly to Bangladesh. More than one million Rohingya still live in Bangladesh, in the world's largest refugee settlement, Gulf News reported.
The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim minority who have faced decades of discrimination and displacement in Myanmar. The UN has described them as the world's most persecuted minority. Anadolu cited a report by the Ontario International Development Agency that estimated thousands were killed by Myanmar's security forces.
The ICJ has no means of enforcing its decisions. Legal experts are watching the ruling for clues about how the court might rule in the genocide case brought by South Africa against Israel over Gaza, Gulf News reported. Members of the Rohingya community have praised The Gambia's decision to bring the case as a historic achievement, according to Anadolu.
Why it matters
The case concerns a Muslim minority whose plight Pakistanis follow closely. Legal experts are also watching it for signs of how the court may handle the genocide case over Gaza.
