Introduction

On 25 August, the Rohingya people are going to mark the fifth year of the ‘ethnic cleansing’ operation perpetrated against them by the Myanmar military. This has prompted the mass exodus of the ethnic Muslim community from their homeland Myanmar to the neighboring country Bangladesh. Though the international community has stepped up its efforts to support the persecuted Rohingya people, any major breakthrough to ensure justice and end the miseries of the ethnic community is yet to materialize.

Last month, however, a ruling by the United Nation’s highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has taken the Rohingyas one step closer to justice. It has rejected Myanmar’s objections to a case that alleges the Southeast Asian state of perpetrating genocidal crimes against the ethnic community. Hence, the West African country Gambia’s case against Myanmar, under the 1948 Genocide Convention, is now all set to be staged for hearings airing the evidence of atrocities against the Rohingya people and judged by the ICJ. The amplified international pressure on the current junta government of Myanmar has created an opportunity to ensure the legitimate rights of the Rohingya people i.e., granting citizenship and instigating a safe repatriation process.

Background

The Rohingyas have been facing state-perpetrated oppression for a long period of time, based on their ethnic identity and religion. The persecution took an organized approach when the Rohingyas lost their citizenship rights in the Citizenship Law of 1982 introduced by the then Myanmar junta government. This has prompted several military crackdowns and a series of mass exodus of the ethnic minority group in the following years.

The latest military crackdown took place in August 2017, where the atrocities committed against the Rohingya community were so heinous that they have been described as “bearing the hallmarks of genocide” with over 10,000 deaths and “gross violation of human rights”.. It has forced almost one million people to flee to Bangladesh.

The incident enticed massive international backlash and prompted multiple initiatives to prevent the monstrous crime against humanity. Subsequently, on 11 November 2019, the Republic of Gambia instituted a case against the Republic of the Union of Myanmar before the World Court – the ICJ. The case filed by The Gambia concerns “acts by Myanmar against the Rohingya ethnic minority group – including mass killings, causing serious bodily and mental harm, causing serious bodily and mental harm, inflicting conditions that are calculated to bring about physical destruction, imposing measures to prevent births, and forcible transfers” that allegedly are genocidal in character and thus, allegedly, amounts to violations of the 1948 Genocide Convention.

On January 23, 2020, following the Gambia’s case, the World Court issued provisional measures against Myanmar to prevent any genocidal acts in its territory against the Rohingyas and to protect them. However, in January 2021, the Myanmar military junta raised four objections challenging the court’s jurisdiction and Gambia’s legal standing to file the case, as well as Gambia’s response. As a consequence, the UN body heard Myanmar’s objections in February 2022.

In the latest ruling, however, the International Court of Justice unanimously rejected three of Myanmar’s objections and rejected the other one by a vote of 15 to 1.

The World Court’s president, U.S. Judge Joan E. Donoghue said, “Any state party to the Genocide Convention may invoke the responsibility of another state party including through the institution of proceedings before the court.” She also added that the court “finds that it has jurisdiction to entertain the application filed by the Republic of the Gambia.”

Impact of the latest ICJ Ruling

Though it can take years to conclude the case, the recent ruling by the ICJ is a great leap forward in achieving justice for the Rohingya people. The ruling is a reprimand to the Myanmar military junta that they can no longer shrug off the charges for the genocidal crimes they have committed against the Rohingya people.

According to the Acting Asia director of Human Rights Watch, Elaine Pearson, “The ICJ decision opens the door toward an overdue reckoning with the Myanmar military’s murderous campaign against the Rohingya population”.

As the ICJ remains one of the few existing pathways for holding Myanmar accountable, the court’s verdict is also legally binding and carries international consequences. The Myanmar military’s response to the ICJ ruling indicates that it is now realizing the gravity of the case’s consequences. In a statement issued by the Ministry of International Cooperation of the Myanmar junta government, it says, “Myanmar is disappointed that its preliminary objections were rejected, while it notes that the court has now determined the matter.” It continues, “Myanmar noted that this judgment will become not only a source of international law but also set a precedent for future cases.” The statement also adds, “Myanmar reaffirms its position in a declaration over the ratification of the convention and respects its obligations under the convention without any violation of them.”

Since the World Court work as a part of the United Nations, its order is automatically sent to the UN Security Council for provisional measures under the ICJ Statute. As the Rohingyas have spent half a decade of their life seeking justice, the UN Security Council members must take the necessary steps to punish the perpetrators of genocidal crimes and guarantee justice for the ethnic minority group.

Securing a Durable Solution

The ICJ’s latest ruling has finally brought hope to the Rohingyas’ plight that justice will be ensured sooner than later. However, the fate of almost one million Rohingyas strangled in the squalid camps of Cox’s Bazar still stays in a state of limbo. Experts believe that Myanmar’s unwillingness and dillydally tactics are to blame for the failure of the safe repatriation process.

From the previous experiences, it can be drawn that without ensuring the citizenship rights of the Rohingya community and securing the repatriation process with safety and dignity, the international community cannot reach a durable solution to the crisis. In this regard, the World Court’s ruling can be an opportunity for a collective diplomatic push to pressurize Myanmar to start the repatriation process.

Conclusion

As the Rohingya people have been facing horror and continued to live in misery for five years, the international community cannot ignore its responsibility toward them. From the point of interest in ending impunity for perpetrating heinous crimes against humanity and maintaining a rule-based international system where justice can be ensured, ICJ’s trial, of course, is welcomed by the Rohingya community and all the peace-loving people of the world.

However, the international community should pay heed to both what has happened to the Rohingyas in the past and what will happen to them in the future, hence ensuring justice through the ICJ’s trial and securing the repatriation process in safety and dignity.