Myanmar has been ordered by the United Nations’ highest court to prevent genocidal violence against its Rohingya Muslim minority and preserve evidence of past attacks.
In a momentous and unanimous decision, the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague ordered Myanmar to carry out emergency, “provisional” measures, intervening in the country’s domestic affairs by instructing the government of Aung San Suu Kyi to respect the requirements of the 1948 genocide convention.
Declaring there was prima facie evidence of breaches of the convention, the court found the estimated 600,000 Rohingya remaining in Myanmar were “extremely vulnerable” to violence at the hands of the military.
The ruling amounts to a rejection of Aung San Suu Kyi’s defence of her country against accusations of systematic human rights abuses and war crimes during a three-day hearing at the ICJ last month.
The case was brought by the Gambia, a predominantly Muslim west African state that alleges Myanmar has breached the genocide convention, which was enacted after the Holocaust.
Thursday’s ruling dealt only with Gambia’s request for so-called preliminary measures, the equivalent of a restraining order for states. It gave no indication of the court’s final decision, which could take years to reach.
In a unanimous ruling by a panel of 17 judges, the court said Myanmar must take all steps within its power to prevent serious harm to Rohingya, and report back within four months.
Gambia’s attorney general and justice minister, Abubacarr Marie Tambadou, told the court in December: “Another genocide is unfolding right before our eyes yet we do nothing to stop it. This is a stain on our collective conscience. It’s not only the state of Myanmar that is on trial here, it’s our collective humanity that is being put on trial.”
Source: The Guardian
