The United Nations (UN) top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), finally took its first step in stopping ongoing injustices and violence Rohingya people are facing in Myanmar. In a landmark case at The Hauge, the court made a unanimous ruling Thursday to hear the allegations of genocide brought by Gambia against Myanmar; it ordered Myanmar to “take all measures within its power” to stop and prevent acts of genocide against the Muslim minority and to not destroy any more evidence, CNN reported. Gambia, a Muslim majority country, brought the case to the ICJ in November under allegations that Myanmar was in violation of a 1948 Convention on Genocide and committing horrific acts of genocide including rape, murder, and torture of women and children.
The UN Human Rights Council released a 440-page report that describes the violence inflicted on the Rohingya people as genocide. The report detailed what the council labeled as “massive violations,” and called for further investigation to be done on the “crimes against humanity and war crimes” committed by Myanmar’s military. It also included satellite images to confirm accounts given by victims and witnesses of the abuse. According to the report, those still living in the state of Rakhine not only lack access to education and healthcare but are “forced to live in conditions akin to prison camps,” reports CNN.
The court also mandated Myanmar to report back within four months on the initial actions they have taken in regards to stopping the genocide and to submit further reports as long as the case remains open, according to The New York Times. While it may take years to reach a verdict in the actual genocide case, this emergency ruling serves as an injunction and is the first step the international community has taken to hold Myanmar accountable for its actions and actively protect the Rohingya population, a community that has been persecuted for years. While the top court verdict is final without appeal, the court does not have the power to enforce its decisions. The decision will be sent to the UN Security Council which will determine the measures to be taken, should Myanmar not cooperate.
Prior to the hearing Thursday, the Financial Times published an article by Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in which she argued for more time to deal with the allegations and said that accounts of abuse by survivors may have been exaggerated. The allegations of abuse were based on a fact-finding mission by the UN Human Rights Council, which relied on statements by refugees in Bangladesh. Suu Kyui wrote that, according to the Independent Commission of Enquiry (ICOE), a commission appointed by her government, “some refugees may have provided inaccurate or exaggerated information,” and rebutted the claims found during the mission as possibly inaccurate. She added that this is a systemic issue that the international community may not be “equipped” to deal with.
Last month, the Noble Peace Prize winner even traveled to The Hague to speak on behalf of her country and defended the military in question, saying that while war crimes may have been committed, there was no intention of genocide. Despite hearing horrific recollections of mass rapes and murders done by the country’s military during her meeting, she told the court, “genocidal intent cannot be the only hypothesis,” The New York Times reported.
The history of violence against the Rohingya people dates back a decade. Myanmar underwent a transition from military control to civilian democracy in 2010. A week after elections, Suu Kyi was released from house arrest after being detained for nearly two decades, however, political oppression was still a key factor in Myanmar. While Suu Kyi collected her Nobel Peace Prize in 2011, violence sparked between Buddhists and Muslims in the Rakhine state, resulting in Rohingya people becoming one of the “most persecuted people” in the world.
The rape and murder of a Buddist woman in June 2012 triggered an even greater attack on Rohingya Muslims killing over 280 innocent victims, this event provoked the horrifying conflict between Buddhists and Muslims in the Rakhine state, which has now lasted three years. Over 1 million people have fled into a refugee status or have been murdered under horrific circumstances. As of today, over 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh, a neighboring country to escape cruelty, the Associated Press reported.
While the recent acts of genocide may only date back a few years, injustices against the Rohingya people have occurred for many more. After the British rule ended in 1948, the military regime in Myanmar began to cultivate their own sense of patriotism. Promises were made to the Rohingya people that after the war they would be given independence, but as those promises were nullified, the community was left stateless and stripped of their identity.
Years later, as Buddhism became harnessed as a sense of nationalism for Myanmar, Rohingyas were still labeled as “foreigners” and not legally recognized citizens due to the Union of Burma; 135 other ethnicities were legally recognized. Shortly after, the Myanmar Nationality Act was passed in 1982, which further shunned the Rohingya despite protests by the UN. As Rohingya Muslims are not considered citizens, they are restricted from receiving proper education, can have their property confiscated, and have even faced forced and child labor.
Despite the violence inflicted on Rohingya Muslims, all Suu Kyi has to say on the matter of her involvement in the genocide is that it’s “fake news.”