Press Releases

NEW YORK — The Global Justice today joins its Rohingya partners as well as human rights activists around the world in commemorating the sixth anniversary of the Rohingya genocide. Akila Radhakrishnan, president of the Global Justice Center, issued the following statement: “The sobering reality on today’s anniversary is that the Rohingya are in a condition no less dire than the one they fled six years ago. Nearly a million are barely surviving in refugee camps with no ability to safely return home. A similar number remain in Myanmar, enduring massive rights restrictions and insecurity under the same authority responsible for their genocide. “This is an accelerating human rights catastrophe, and the international community must reckon with its responsibility for it. Impunity is the foundation upon which genocidal military leaders staged their coup in 2021, and it continues to serve as fuel for its brutal campaigns of persecution. Through its failure to take meaningful action, bodies like the UN Security Council have condoned and sustained this impunity. “Our international institutions helped to foment this crisis — they can help end it too. Existing sanctions and international court cases are critical steps, but it’s nowhere near enough. The world must listen to Rohingya, who have been clear about what they need from the beginning: accountability for perpetrators, an end to discriminatory policies against them and a pathway to a  safe, dignified return to Myanmar. They deserve no less.”

BUENOS AIRES/NEW YORK — The Global Justice Center and the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) today submitted recommendations to the Argentinian judiciary in a case brought against Myanmar military leaders for the genocide of the Rohingya. The case was filed by BROUK and launched by the Second Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court in 2021 under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows any court to prosecute certain human rights abuses, regardless of where they were committed. Today’s submission seeks to prepare the court for testimony from victims of sexual violence. It presents internationally-recognized principles for interviewing and engaging with victims. The submission also sets out standards for how the court should asses evidence of sexual violence. Tun Khin, BROUK President, issued the following statement: “More than five years after the genocide of the Rohingya, this case represents a crucial path to justice for crimes committed in Myanmar, particularly for victims of sexual violence. The Argentinian courts have an opportunity to be on the right side of history and provide justice that, until now, has seemed illusive.” Angela Mudukuti, Senior Legal Advisor with the Global Justice Center, issued the following statement: “Supporting victims of sexual violence, and our partners BROUK in their quest for justice, is of the utmost importance to the Global Justice Center. We submitted these recommendations because, historically, courts all over the world have failed to engage with victims and survivors of sexual violence in a way that avoids retraumatization and gives their testimony the weight it deserves. We remain hopeful that our submission will support the Argentinian judiciary in treating survivors and victims with dignity.”

NEW YORK — The International Court of Justice today issued a ruling that rejected “preliminary objections” raised by Myanmar in its genocide case. The case brought by The Gambia to hold Myanmar accountable for its 2017 genocide of the Rohingya will now move on to the merits phase. Preliminary objections are typically filed to raise procedural issues. Among other things, Myanmar objected to the court’s jurisdiction as well as The Gambia’s standing to bring the case. For more on preliminary measures, see this recent Q&A on the case. Akila Radhakrishnan, president of the Global Justice Center, issued the following statement: “Since its genocide of the Rohingya nearly five years ago, Myanmar’s military junta has done whatever it can to avoid or delay international accountability for its crimes. The court’s ruling today rejects Myanmar’s latest delay tactic, advancing this critical vehicle for justice. “This court has rejected the military junta at every turn. In its hearings and order on provisional measures, the court already considered and rejected many of these procedural objections from Myanmar. In issuing provisional measures, the court also found that serious risks of genocide still existed for the Rohingya and ordered Myanmar to take steps to prevent genocide. The fact is, Myanmar violated the Genocide Convention and it can’t avoid accountability any longer. “Since it seized power in a coup last February, the military junta’s violence and criminality has only deepened. Though we’ve seen strong condemnation and some bare accountability measures from the international community, the people of Myanmar continue to suffer under this brutal regime. And though this case is just one of many roads toward justice, its resolution would be a major step towards justice and a sustainable, democratic Myanmar.”

NEW YORK — The United States today declared China’s government is committing genocide and other international crimes against the Uyghurs, a largely Muslim ethnic minority living in western China. In the past, President-elect Joe Biden has also deemed the repression of Uyghurs genocide. Grant Shubin, legal director of the Global Justice Center, issued the following statement: “The United States is right to bring the brutal, years-long repression of the Uyghurs within the framework of genocide. What’s more, it correctly cited gendered crimes of biological destruction like forced sterilization and birth control. However, the human rights community should be alarmed at reports that this decision was motivated by policy goals instead of a legal obligation to prevent and punish genocide. “Our legal and moral duty to combat genocide should inform our policy goals, not the other way around. The US should be applauded for taking action to prevent the destruction of the Uyghurs and we hope other nations join them. But we must see fighting genocide as a cause for humanity rather than a geopolitical wedge. “We hope to see the US follow these strong words with decisive action. Where there is a risk of genocide, there is a duty to act. Moving forward, this designation should inform the entirety of US foreign policy and we hope to hear more from the incoming Biden administration on how it plans to follow through on this historic announcement.”

NEW YORK — The governments of Canada and the Netherlands today announced their intention to intervene in the genocide case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice. In a joint statement, the foreign ministries of both governments said the move furthers their solemn pledge to prevent genocide and hold those responsible to account. They also made clear their intention to “pay special attention to crimes related to sexual and gender-based violence, including rape.” Akila Radhakrishnan, President of the Global Justice Center, had the following response: “Today’s announcement from Canada and the Netherlands is nothing short of historic. The Gambia took the brave and necessary step to file the case late last year, but the cause of the Rohingya must be a cause of the whole world. Canada and the Netherlands took a major step today towards fulfilling their legal and moral duty to act against genocide. “Just as important as their intention to intervene is their promise to focus on gendered crimes of genocide like sexual and gender-based violence, which was central to the atrocities against the Rohingya. Too often, gendered experiences do not translate to justice and accountability efforts and leave the primary targets of those crimes — women and girls — behind. This is an important step forward to address that gap and Canada and the Netherlands should be applauded for this move.”

Originally posted at Asia Justice Coalition Three years after the Myanmar military launched its campaign involving acts amounting to crimes against humanity and acts the UN's Fact-Finding Mission determined may amount to genocide against its Rohingya Muslim citizens, the Asia Justice Coalition today joins the Rohingya community in remembering and honouring their victims and survivors. Over a million Rohingya remain refugees, most of them in Bangladesh, but also scattered in other countries including Malaysia, India, Thailand, Indonesia and in Europe. Some 126,000 individuals have also been internally displaced and are living in dire conditions. We reflect on the need for justice for the Rohingya, including through investigations and prosecutions of those individually responsible for crimes under international law committed against the Rohingya, and to uphold their right to safe, dignified and voluntary return. We recognize the global efforts undertaken so far, and encourage further action to ensure ensure truth, justice, and reparations for the Rohingya. Background The Rohingya have been subjected to widespread gross human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian law. The United Nations appointed Independent International Fact- Finding Mission (FFM) has established the facts and circumstances of human rights violations by military and security forces in Myanmar. According to the FFM, many of these violations undoubtedly amount to serious crimes under international law, including crimes against humanity and likely genocide. The FFM identified widespread human rights and humanitarian law violations, including but not limited to arbitrary detention, torture and inhuman treatment, rape and other forms of sexual violence, extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary killings, enforced disappearances, forced displacement and unlawful destruction of property. The military has systematically used sexual violence as a weapon of war, with the gang-rape of women and girls, as well as violations against men and members of the transgender community coming to light. They have burned down villages, killed children and maintained a long-standing pattern of violations and abuses, systemic discrimination and policies of exclusion and marginalization against the Rohingya. It is estimated that over a million Rohingya have been forced to flee their homes, to seek refuge in other countries. The Rohingya have continued to undertake dangerous journeys on boats to neighbouring countries and many have been subjected to trafficking, whilst some have been separated from their families and many have lost their lives at sea. There have been numerous cases this year where Rohingya making these perilous journeys have been ‘pushed back’ at sea and denied permission to disembark in Malaysia and Thailand, in clear violation of international law. Justice for the Rohingya has been denied in Myanmar. The Myanmar government has claimed that those who have perpetrated these heinous crimes against the Rohingya will be held accountable through criminal prosecution. However, there has been near total impunity for those responsible. In the rare instance of the prosecution and sentencing of seven soldiers for killing ten Rohingya men and boys in Inn Din village, those convicted were pardoned after serving less than a year of their ten-year sentence, which was handed down following closed proceedings in a military tribunal, inconsistent with international law and standards. This directly contradicts the Myanmar government’s claims that it will meet its obligations to bring those individually responsible for crimes under international law to justice. There is a culture of impunity for perpetrators of gross human rights violations. The courts-martial process in Myanmar is an example of the government’s standard position of ‘defend, deny and dismiss’ with many perpetrators walking free, without facing criminal prosecution. The Myanmar justice system and the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) are currently unable and unwilling to pursue accountability for gross human rights violations. Similarly, the Independent Commission of Enquiry established in 2018 has been compromised from the outset. The justice system therefore requires wide ranging reform – including through amendments to the constitution – to guarantee its independence and impartiality, so it can effectively promote and protect human rights in Myanmar. The enormity of this task, and the lack of political will to see it through, cement consensus that justice can only be achieved through international justice processes. International Justice Initiatives The past year has seen progress towards justice for the Rohingya. There have been significant developments at the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as well as the commencement of work of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM). At the ICC, following authorization by Pre-Trial Chamber III, the Prosecutor has opened an investigation into crimes related to the forced deportation of Rohingya from Rakhine State in Myanmar, (which is not party to the Rome Statute of the ICC), across the border into Bangladesh, which has ratified the Rome Statute. In November 2019, the Republic of The Gambia filed a case before the International Court of Justice alleging that Myanmar’s atrocities against the Rohingya violate the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention). On 23 January 2020, the ICJ in a unanimous decision, issued an order granting the indication of provisional measures. The Court ordered immediate measures to be taken by Myanmar, including that the State take all measures to prevent and ensure that the Myanmar military, as well as any irregular armed units desist from any acts that could form elements of the crime of genocide, or that could violate its obligations under the Genocide Convention. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar has also commenced its work, which is to “collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence of the most serious international crimes and violations of international law committed in Myanmar since 2011”. The IIMM continues the work of the FFM, feeding into international justice efforts such as criminal investigations and prosecutions. The success of these international justice initiatives is dependent on the mechanisms having the capacity to undertake their work, as well as the political support and cooperation of States, intergovernmental organizations, civil society organizations and other stakeholders in Myanmar and globally. Call to Action The Asia Justice Coalition notes that there are opportunities for all stakeholders to do more. We call upon the international community to redouble its efforts to pursue truth, justice, and reparations with and for the Rohingya. We also reiterate the need for greater cooperation and support from the international community to international (and national) justice initiatives, in order that they may be fully engaged in the pursuit of justice for crimes under international law committed against the Rohingya: We urge the international community to continue to press the Myanmar government to meet its international law obligations, to bring those suspected of crimes under international law to justice through fair trials. We urge condemnation – in the strongest terms – of Myanmar’s failure to pursue justice for the Rohingya. We urge the United Nations Security Council to refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court, which would allow the court to address allegations of the full range of Rome Statute crimes against the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities, including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. We urge the Myanmar government and all actors to support and cooperate with the IIMM. We emphasise the need for meaningful engagement and information sharing for effective investigations and prosecutions of crimes under international law. We urge States and business enterprises to ensure compliance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as a minimum, in any business activities related to Myanmar. The obligation to ensure activities do not cause or contribute to human rights violations falls on the State as well as business enterprises, and this is an area of particular concern in Myanmar. We urge the Myanmar government to guarantee to the Rohingya equality under the law relating to citizenship rights, as well as other core issues such as freedom of movement. The Rohingya should be equal parties in the development of these frameworks and must have the ability to return to Myanmar, in keeping with a voluntary, safe and dignified return, once the conditions are fulfilled. We highlight the need for the Myanmar government to recognise and respect the Rohingya’s voting rights in the upcoming elections on November 8. The voting rights of the Rohingya were stripped in 2015 through the 1982 law, which states that only ethnic nationalities whose families entered the country before 1823 are entitled to Myanmar citizenship. This has resulted in the Rohingya being denied citizenship and being subjected to discriminatory policies and treatment in all facets of life. The upcoming elections should be a turning point in the political trajectory of Myanmar and should be free and fair, representing the will of the people of Myanmar including the Rohingya population. We also urge the international community to fully utilise Myanmar’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in January 2021 to press Myanmar on compliance with the ICJ’s provisional measures order and to call for human rights reform in the country.

NEW YORK — Myanmar will submit its first report to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on its compliance with an order to prevent and not commit genocide against the Rohingya this Saturday. The reporting obligations are one of the “provisional measures” issued by the ICJ in January. Myanmar is required to report to the ICJ on “all measures taken to give effect” to the Order, including to prevent genocidal acts, ensure its military and police forces do not commit genocidal acts, and preserve all potential evidence of genocidal acts. The first report must be submitted by May 23, 2020, four months after the provisional measures order, while subsequent reports will be due every six months. The ICJ does not require the report be made public. “The reporting requirement was a critical component of the ICJ’s historic order to protect the Rohingya from genocide. Having specifically recognized that the Rohingya remain extremely vulnerable, the periodic reports will allow the Court to monitor Myanmar’s actions related to the Rohingya in real time as the case proceeds,” said Akila Radhakrishnan, president of the Global Justice Center. “Unfortunately, the response since then from Myanmar’s government has been deeply flawed at worst, and superficial at best.” On April 8, Myanmar issued “presidential directives” to all government officials, requesting they ensure acts prohibited by Article II of the Genocide Convention are not committed — and that evidence of those acts are not destroyed. A later directive asked officials to denounce and prevent hate speech. The directives — which represent the only substantive response from Myanmar since the January ICJ order — include no clear guidelines for implementation and monitoring, and do not touch on the key issues of structural discrimination that need to be addressed in order to meaningfully give effect to the order. Deeper analysis of Myanmar’s actions since the ICJ order can be found in our Q&A. “Myanmar’s Generals ordered the atrocities, bulldozed and buried evidence of their crimes, and are the reason why Aung San Suu Kyi’s name will now forever be associated with genocide and injustice,” said Dr. Simon Adams, Executive Director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. “Until Myanmar’s discriminatory laws are abolished and the perpetrators of the genocide are held accountable, the threat of further atrocities remains.”

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.”

Report Confirms Human Rights Experts’ Charges that Commission Won’t Provide Real Accountability NEW YORK – The Independent Commission of Enquiry (ICOE), established by the Government of Myanmar to investigate human rights abuses in Rakhine State, submitted its final report to Myanmar’s government today. The full report is not yet public and its submission comes days before an International Court of Justice ruling that could impose immediately binding obligations on Myanmar. The report acknowledged some human rights abuses occurred in the context of what it deemed an “internal armed conflict,” but found no evidence of genocidal intent, contradicting independent United Nations investigations and numerous human rights organizations. The Commission also asserts that its full report and annexes can be used as the basis for domestic investigations, including by the military justice system as a venue for accountability, despite the military’s history of protecting soldiers who carried out human rights abuses and the significant flaws of the system. The report also seemingly fails, like the Government of Myanmar, to use the term “Rohingya” which continues to deny the identity of the group. “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,” said Akila Radhakrishnan, president of the Global Justice Center. “This Commission is just yet another domestic attempt to deflect responsibility and whitewash the situation of the Rohingya.” The ICOE was established in June 2018 to investigate allegations of human rights abuses in Rakhine state. The Commission said from the outset it would not seek to hold anyone accountable and it was formed to “respond to false allegations made by UN agencies.” This bias, as well as a lack of transparency around the Commission’s methods, led the United Nations Independent International Fact-finding Mission on Myanmar to conclude last year that the commission “does not constitute an effective independent investigations mechanism.” “The UN Fact-Finding Mission was right when it said accountability must come from the international community,” said Radhakrishnan. “We must continue to support ongoing efforts seeking true accountability for the crimes against the Rohingya, including The Gambia’s case at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court’s current investigation.”