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| A Rohingya Muslim woman cries as she holds her daughter after they were detained by Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers while crossing the India-Bangladesh border from Bangladesh, at Raimura village on the outskirts of Agartala, January 22, 2019. REUTERS/Jayanta Dey/File Photo |
Gambia has filed a case at the United Nationsโ top court accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against its Rohingya Muslim minority, Gambian Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou said on Monday.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, is the United Nationsโ top legal institution that rules on disputes between states.
Both Gambia and Myanmar are signatories to the 1948 Genocide Convention, which not only prohibits states from committing genocide but also compels all signatory states to prevent and punish the crime of genocide.
โWe have just submitted our application to the ICJ under the Genocide Convention,โ Tambadou told a news conference in The Hague, where the court is based.
โThe aim is to get Myanmar to account for its action against its own people: the Rohingya. It is a shame for our generation that we do nothing while genocide is unfolding right under our own eyes.โ
His tiny West African nation, which is predominantly Muslim, has filed its case with the support of the Organisation for Islamic Coooperation (OIC).
More than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims fled to neighbouring Bangladesh following a 2017 crackdown by Myanmarโs military, which U.N. investigators have said was executed with โgenocidal intentโ.
Myanmar, which has a Buddhist majority, denies accusations of genocide and says its crackdown targeted militant separatists in Rakhine state.
In its filing, Gambia asked the court to grant so-called provisional measures to make sure Myanmar immediately โstops atrocities and genocide against its own Rohingya peopleโ.
The law firm helping Gambia, Foley Hoag, said it expected the first hearings on the provisional measures to take place next month.
Human rights groups which have been pushing the international community to act in the Rohingya crisis hailed Gambiaโs move.
โGambia has found a way to turn the international communityโs handwringing over the Rohingya into action,โ Param-Preet Singh of Human Rights Watch told Reuters.
While the ICJ has no means to enforce any of its rulings, going against the decisions of the court could further harm Myanmarโs international reputation.
REUTERS
