Asia & Pacific

Myanmar: ICC ruling to probe Myanmar over Rohingya’s ethnic cleansing is a step in the right direction to establish justice

AFD International welcomes the news that the International Criminal Court (ICC)is to investigate the crimes commited against the Muslims of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar.

the decision of the judges of Pre-Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Court to approve the Prosecutor’s request to open an investigation into the crimes committed against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar.
The judges of the Court recognised that there was a reasonable basis to believe that widespread and systematic acts of violence may have been committed and could be considered crimes against humanity, including deportation across the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, as well as ethnic or religious persecution against the Rohingya population.

The decision came after the Gambian government and an Argentian court initiated the process at the International Court of Justice by accusing the Myanmar government of committing crimes amounting to genocide.

Although Myanmar is not a member of the ICC, however, parts of the atrocities against the Rohingya had taken part in the neighbouring country of Bangladesh, which is a member of the ICC.

The Uited Nation human Rights Council called the atrocities that occured in August 2017, especially, in the Rakhine state, text book genocide.
Under Article 13 (b) the Rome Statute grants the Security Council a unparalelled jurisdictional role. The statute grants the Council the power, acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, to refer to the ICC situations in which crimes under the jurisdiction of the court have taken place.

The Myanmar military is still involved in commiting serious and unlawful onslaught particularly in areas where the muslim minority population is located. This unprecedented ruling will send shock waves to the military junata’s headquarter not just in Myanmar but in the entire area and beyond.

the fact that many high profile officials such as the Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi are cited in the case filed on Wednesday in Argentina to the International Court of Justice, shows that perpetrators are not necessarily just the uniformed personel but prolific politicians can be implicated when such horrific crimes are commited under their watch.

AFD International
Asia and the Pacific Department
November 18th 2019

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