THE HAGUE (Reuters) – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday rejected a request by Burma and declared itself competent to rule on the accusation of genocide against the Muslim Rohingya minority filed by The Gambia.
Burma argued that the Application filed by The Gambia was inadmissible on the ground that the latter lacked standing.
The Gambia took up the cause of the Rohingya in 2019, with the support of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in order to recognize Burma’s responsibility in the treatment of this community.
At least 730,000 members of this Muslim minority fled Burma to find refuge in Bangladesh to escape a military campaign in 2017, which included murder, gang rape and arson, according to a UN investigation.
Burma refutes the accusations of genocide, considering that the UN report is “biased and erroneous”.
The Rohingya are still denied Burmese nationality and do not enjoy freedom of movement. Tens of thousands of them are still confined in camps for the displaced.
(Report Toby Sterling, and Poppy McPherson; French version Camille Raynaud, said by)