ICJ Opens Hearings on Myanmar Rohingya Genocide Case

The International Court of Justice in The Hague opened hearings on Monday into allegations that Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority during a 2017 military operation in Rakhine State. The case, filed by The Gambia in 2019 on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, accuses Myanmar of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention through acts intended to destroy the ethnic group in whole or in part.

The proceedings mark the start of the merits phase after years of preliminary arguments, focusing on a clearance operation launched by Myanmar's armed forces in August 2017. The offensive followed attacks by Rohingya militants on security posts, but United Nations investigators later determined it involved widespread killings, mass rapes, arson and other atrocities that demonstrated genocidal intent. More than 730,000 Rohingya fled across the border to Bangladesh, where they now live in overcrowded camps in Cox's Bazar housing around 1.2 million people. Refugees have described villages burned to the ground, civilians shot and women subjected to sexual violence.

Gambian Justice Minister Dawda Jallow addressed the court on the opening day, stating that...