The ''Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar)'', commonly referred to as the Rohingya genocide case, is a case which is currently being heard by the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

(ICJ). The case was brought forward by the

Republic of The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

, on behalf of 57 members of the

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...

in 2019.

Background

The

Rohingya people The Rohingya people () are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar (previously known as Burma). Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an ...

are a Muslim Indo-Aryan ethnic minority which has faced mass persecution and ethnic cleansing in Buddhist-majority Myanmar in recent years. The persecution of the Rohingya has been described as a

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...

. The government of Myanmar deems them

illegal immigrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwa ...

, but the Rohingya people argue they have lived in the area for generations and that the government of Myanmar's treatment of them is unfair to the Muslims of Myanmar as a whole. According to ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

'', regarding Aung San Suu Kyi's motivation for taking up the defendants' cause, "It is hard to escape the conclusion that she is exploiting the Rohingyas' misery to boost her party's prospects in elections due in 2020." Aung San Suu Kyi describes this conflict as an " internal armed conflict" that was triggered by Rohingya attacks on the government of Myanmar. The judge who is presiding over the case,

Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf ( so, Cabdulqaawi Axmed Yuusuf) is a Somali lawyer and judge serving on the International Court of Justice since 2009. He served as the court's president from 2018 to 2021. Early life Yusuf was born in the northeastern t ...

, has given Myanmar four months to implement his rulings: Myanmar must take "all measure within its power" to prevent genocide.

Procedural history

On 11 November 2019,

The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

lodged a 35-page application with the ICJ against

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, initiating the case on the basis of the '' erga omnes'' character of the obligations enshrined in the Genocide Convention. The application alleged that Myanmar has committed mass murder, rape and destruction of communities against the

Rohingya The Rohingya people () are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar (previously known as Burma). Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an ...

group in

Rakhine state Rakhine State (; , , ; formerly known as Arakan State) is a state in Myanmar (Burma). Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State to the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region to the east, the Bay of Ben ...

since about October 2016 and that these actions violate the

Genocide Convention The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG), or the Genocide Convention, is an international treaty that criminalizes genocide and obligates state parties to pursue the enforcement of its prohibition. It was ...

. Outside counsel for The Gambia includes a team from the law firm

Foley Hoag Foley Hoag LLP (formerly Foley, Hoag & Eliot LLP) is a law firm headquartered in Boston, with additional offices in New York City, Paris, and Washington, D.C. The firm represents public and private clients in a wide range of disputes and transacti ...

led by Paul Reichler, as well as Professors

Philippe Sands Philippe Joseph Sands, KC (born 17 October 1960) is a British and French writer and lawyer a11 King's Bench Walkand Professor of Laws and Director of the Centre on International Courts and Tribunals at University College London. A specialist in ...

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

and

Payam Akhavan Payam Akhavan (Persian: پیام اخوان) is an Iranian-born lawyer. He is a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. He is a senior fellow at Massey College at the University of Toronto and is a visiting adjunct at the ...

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

. On the other side, leader and State Counsellor

Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2 ...

is representing Myanmar, along with a legal team. The Gambia also submitted a request for the indication of

provisional measures of protection A provisional measure of protection is the term that the International Court of Justice (ICJ, World Court) uses to describe a procedure "roughly equivalent" to an interim order (which can be either a temporary restraining order or a temporary direc ...

. The ICJ held a public hearing on that request for three days, 10-12 December 2019. A commentator described the hearing as a "remarkable spectacle," noting that The Gambia's team provided "brutal descriptions" of atrocities, while Aung San Suu Kyi avoided using the word “Rohingya”—except in a reference to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. On 23 January 2020, the ICJ issued an order on The Gambia's request for provisional measures. The order "indicated" (i.e., issued) provisional measures ordering Myanmar to prevent genocidal acts against the Rohingya Muslims during the pendency of the case, and to report regularly on its implementation of the order. The Court issued a procedural order on the same date, setting filing deadlines of 23 July 2020 for The Gambia's Memorial, and 25 January 2021 for Myanmar's responsive Counter-Memorial. On 18 May 2020, The Court issued an extension for The Gambia's memorial and set a filing deadline of 23 October 2020. Similarly, an extension was granted to Myanmar set at 23 July 2021.

Analysis

Analyzing the decision in the blog of the ''

European Journal of International Law The ''European Journal of International Law'' is a quarterly law journal covering international law in a combination of theoretical and practical approaches. It also provides coverage of the relationship between international law and European Unio ...

'', Marko Milanovic, a professor at the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

School of Law, called the Court's order "obviously a win for The Gambia, and for the Rohingya cause more generally", but also stated that the order largely only replicated existing "state obligations under the Genocide Convention", and did not include the broader measures and statements that The Gambia had requested.

References

{{Reflist

External links

ICJ page on the case with all available official documents

Recap of provisional measures hearing from Opinio Juris blog, day 1 (10 December 2019)

Recap of provisional measures hearing from Opinio Juris blog, day 2 (11 December 2019)

Recap of provisional measures hearing from Opinio Juris blog, day 3 (12 December 2019)

Order on provisional measures (23 January 2020)
*
Separate opinion of Vice-President Xue
*
Separate opinion of Judge Cançado Trindade
*
Declaration of Judge ad hoc Kress
2019 in international relations International Court of Justice cases Genocide case Genocides in Asia

Background

Procedural history

Analysis

See also

References

External links