Excerpt of Le Monde article that features GJC Deputy Legal Director Grant Shubin.
The decision must now be transmitted to the United Nations Security Council. Grant Shubin, deputy legal director of the Global Justice Center, said: "It is not certain that the Council will take action, particularly because of opposition from China," Burma's ally, "but such a decision constitutes a warning for Burma that the international community is watching.”
Excerpt of ABC Australia article that features GJC President Akila Radhakrishnan.
The full report is not public, but the Global Justice Centre cast doubt on the commission's independence and said it couldn't provide real accountability.
"All signs point to what human rights experts and Rohingya themselves already know, which is that the government has no intention of bringing perpetrators of mass rape and other genocidal crimes to justice," Akila Radhakrishnan, president of the Global Justice Centre, said.
"This Commission is just yet another domestic attempt to deflect responsibility and whitewash the situation of the Rohingya."
She pointed out that the report "also seemingly fails, like the Government of Myanmar, to use the term 'Rohingya', which continues to deny the identity of the group".
Excerpt of Bloomberg article that features GJC Deputy Legal Director Grant Shubin.
Failure to comply may affect Myanmar’s international standing or prompt reactions in bilateral or multilateral forums, Grant Shubin, deputy legal director of the New York-based Global Justice Center said in an email. ”While there are still several stages of the case that must happen before the court finally decides if Myanmar violated the Genocide Convention, the broader international community should do everything in their power to ensure Myanmar complies with an order,” Shubin added.
THE HAGUE — The International Court of Justice today ordered Myanmar to take immediate action to prevent genocide.
The “provisional measures” require Myanmar to prevent genocidal acts, ensure military and police forces do not commit genocidal acts, preserve all evidence of genocidal acts, and report on compliance with these provisional measures. The measures are also automatically sent to the UN Security Council.
“Today’s order is a massive step towards justice for the Rohingya that underlines the importance of the global rule of law,” said Akila Radhakrishnan, president of the Global Justice Center. “Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya are still under the threat of genocide. Over a million languish in refugee camps far from home. These measures recognize the tremendous urgency of the situation for survivors of sexual violence and other genocidal crimes. It’s now time for the international community, including the Security Council, to act to ensure compliance.”
In its request for provisional measures, The Gambia cited the findings of the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, which reported in September that the Rohingya remaining inside Myanmar “live under the threat of genocide.” Countries on the UN Security Council are obligated to prevent and punish the crime of genocide under the Genocide Convention.
“This is the first step on a path to justice for the Rohingya. I hope that all members of the UN Security Council will uphold their moral and political obligation to ensure that the provisional measures ordered by the Court are fully implemented,” said Dr. Simon Adams, Executive Director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. “Those responsible for genocide are still in power in Myanmar. Justice has been delayed but can no longer be denied.”
Excerpt of The Guardian article that features GJC President Akila Radhakrishnan.
The panel report, said Akila Radhakrishnan, a human rights lawyer and the President of the Global Justice Centre, was fundamentally flawed. “It’s methodology has been criticised since it was announced, the last fact [UN] finding mission report laid out a series of concerns that they had - from the lack of a clear mandate to to its dependency on the Myanmar government and questionable operating procedures.
“The [panel] commissioners themselves said they’re not going to be able to point the finger, that they are not looking to establish accountability.”
Radhakrishnan added that by admitting some abuses took place, the report appeared to be attempting to reassure the international community, and that the timing of the report was significant. “This is their way of saying we have this impartial independent process - you need to leave domestic accountability to us,” she said.
