ICJ decision on Rohingya genocide case Jan 23
Diplomatic Correspondent, Dhaka
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will deliver its decision on the provisional measurers requested by The Gambia in its genocide case against Myanmar on January 23. The Ministry of Justice, the official account of the attorney generals chambers and the Ministry of Justice of The Gambia, in a Monday tweet said, The International Court of Justice @CIJ_ICJ will on Thursday 23rd January be delivering its decision on the Provisional Measures requested by The Gambia in its #Genocide case against Myanmar.
The Gambia lodged a case on November 11 last year at the ICJ accusing Myanmar of genocide for unleashing atrocities against Rohingya Muslims minority who were killed by the Myanmar army in Rakhine in 2017. Following the lawsuit filed by The Gambia, a tiny Muslim country in West Africa and also a member of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), the court held public hearings for three days starting in December 10 last year.
Myanmar leader and Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who was once dubbed as democracy icon, went to the international court to defend alleged atrocities by the Myanmar generals against Rohingya Muslims at the court. The court listened to both the parties and ended public hearings on December 12 last year.
During the hearings, The Gambia as the state party to the genocide convention requested the court a number of provisional measures, which include: (a) Myanmar shall mmediately take all measures within its power to prevent all acts that amount to or contribute to the crime of genocide; (b) Myanmar shall, in particular, ensure that any military, paramilitary or irregular armed units which may be directed or supported by it, as well as any organisations and persons which may be subject to its control, direction or influence, do not commit any act of genocide, of conspiracy to commit genocide, or direct and pubic incitement to commit genocide, or of complicity in genocide, against the Rohingya group ;
In addition, the provisions also include (c) Myanmar shall not destroy or render inaccessible any evidence related to the events described in the application; (d) Myanmar and The Gambia shall not take any action and shall assure that no action is taken which may aggravate or extend the existing dispute that is subject of this application, or render it more difficult of resolution; and (e) Myanmar and The Gambia shall each provide a report to the court on all measures taken to give effect to this order for provisional measures, no later than four months from its issuance.
After the persecution of Rohingyas, over 7.5 lakh Rohingya people including children and old men and women were forced to leave Rakhine state to save their lives and take refuge in Bangladesh. At present, Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas at different congested camps in Coxs Bazar. Since mid-August 2017, not a single Rohingya could be repatriated despite two abortive attempts. In between this long time, Myanmar still could not make any congenial atmosphere for the safe and dignified return of the Rohingyas, said Bangladeshs foreign ministry repeatedly.
