The International Criminal Court (ICC) has begun a preliminary examination into the allegations of crimes committed by Myanmar by forcing deportation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas from Rakhine to Cox’s Bazar.

The preliminary examination will enable the ICC prosecutor to carry out a full investigation.

“Since the end of 2017, my office has received a number of communications and reports concerning crimes allegedly committed against the Rohingya population in Myanmar and their deportation to Bangladesh,” ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement posted on the website of the court on Tuesday.

“The review of these communications, which constitutes the first phase of my office's preliminary examination activities, shed light on a preliminary legal issue concerning the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court ("ICC" or "the Court"), which I deemed appropriate to bring to the attention of the Court's judges,” said the statement.

“Having received confirmation from the Judges of Pre-Trial Chamber I that the Court may indeed exercise jurisdiction over the alleged deportation of the Rohingya people from Myanmar to Bangladesh, as well as potentially other crimes under article 7 of the Rome Statute, I have decided to proceed to the next phase of the preliminary examination process and to carry out a full-fledged preliminary examination of the situation at hand,” it said.

“While Myanmar is not a State Party to the ICC, Bangladesh is. The Court may therefore exercise jurisdiction over conduct to the extent it partly occurred on the territory of Bangladesh,” stated the statement.

“In this context, the preliminary examination may take into account a number of alleged coercive acts having resulted in the forced displacement of the Rohingya people, including deprivation of fundamental rights, killing, sexual violence, enforced disappearance, destruction and looting,” it said.

“My office will further consider whether other crimes under article 7 of the Rome Statute may be applicable to the situation at hand, such as the crimes of persecution and other inhumane acts,” it added.