Press Releases

Gambia, Myanmar to Present Their Arguments Before World Court originally published by Human Rights Watch (The Hague) – International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearings in the Myanmar genocide case highlight the need for justice for the ethnic Rohingya, Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, Global Justice Center, Human Rights Watch, Refugee Women for Peace and Justice, and Women’s Peace Network said today. Hearings on the merits of the case begin on January 12, 2026. In August 2017, Myanmar security forces began a sweeping campaign of massacres, rape, and arson against Rohingya in northern Rakhine State that forced more than 700,000 people to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. In November 2019, Gambia filed a case before the ICJ alleging that Myanmar’s atrocities against the Rohingya constitute genocide and violate the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This is not a criminal case against individuals, but a request for a legal determination of Myanmar’s state responsibility for genocide. “Seeing Gambia’s landmark case against Myanmar finally enter the merits phase delivers renewed hope to Rohingya that our decades-long suffering may finally end,” said Wai Wai Nu, founder and executive director of the Women’s Peace Network. “Amid ongoing violations against the Rohingya, the world must stand firm in the pursuit of justice and a path toward ending impunity in Myanmar and restoring our rights.” In December 2019, the ICJ held hearings on Gambia’s request for provisional measures to protect the Rohingya remaining in Myanmar from genocide, which the court unanimously adopted in January 2020. The court’s provisional measures require Myanmar to prevent all genocidal acts against the Rohingya, to ensure that security forces do not commit acts of genocide, and to take steps to preserve evidence related to the case. Myanmar is legally bound to comply. Human Rights Watch and others have documented ongoing grave abuses against the Rohingya remaining in Myanmar, contravening the court-ordered provisional measures. On February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s military staged a coup, overthrew the democratically elected government, and installed a military junta. Since the coup, armed conflict between Myanmar’s security forces and opposition forces and ethnic armed groups has engulfed much of the country, with security forces committing grave abuses, including airstrikes against civilians in multiple ethnic areas. The Myanmar military has long subjected Rohingya to atrocity crimes, including the ongoing crimes against humanity of apartheid, persecution, and deprivation of liberty. Since late 2023, Rohingya civilians have been caught in the fighting between the junta and ethnic Arakan Army armed group. Both sides have carried out grave abuses, including extrajudicial killings, widespread arson, and unlawful recruitment. “The Myanmar military’s vicious cycles of abuses and impunity need to end,” said Shayna Bauchner, Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “This should begin with governments holding the junta to its legal obligation to comply with the ICJ-ordered provisional measures.” In January 2021, Aung San Suu Kyi’s ruling National League for Democracy government filed preliminary objections challenging the ICJ’s jurisdiction and Gambia’s standing to file the case. In February 2022, the ICJ heard Myanmar’s objections from the military junta. In July, the court rejected the objections, allowing the case to proceed on the merits. Establishing that genocide has taken place under the Genocide Convention requires demonstrating that genocidal acts were committed with an intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group in whole or in part. During the three-week hearings at the ICJ, the parties are expected to present their arguments and supporting evidence about whether Myanmar violated the Genocide Convention. Eleven countries intervened in the case but will not present orally at the hearings on the merits. While their written submissions remain confidential, their declarations of intervention outline several arguments in support of Gambia’s position, including on the issue of genocidal intent, the scope of the obligation to prevent and punish genocide, and the role of sexual and gender-based violence for a genocide determination. The latter is detailed in a paper being published by the Global Justice Center. “Genocide does not unfold only through mass killing,” said Elise Keppler, executive director of the Global Justice Center. “In Myanmar, targeted sexual and reproductive violence inflicted on Rohingya women and girls was designed to break families, threaten futures, and eliminate the possibility of survival as a group. A gender-competent analysis makes this intent visible – and without it, the case that genocide against the Rohingya occurred is incomplete.” In addition to Gambia’s ICJ case, there are several ongoing efforts to bring individual perpetrators of crimes in Myanmar to justice. In 2019, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor opened an investigation into alleged grave crimes against the Rohingya. Although Myanmar is not a member of the ICC, the court’s judges have determined that the ICC has jurisdiction over the situation because at least one element of the alleged crimes took place in Bangladesh, an ICC member. In November 2024, the ICC prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s military, alleging his responsibility for the crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution of the Rohingya in 2017. To bring comprehensive accountability, the United Nations Security Council should expand the ICC’s jurisdiction to address the full scope of criminality by referring the situation in Myanmar to the court, the groups said. In November 2019, a group of human rights organizations, including the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, filed a criminal case in Argentina under the principle of universal jurisdiction against Myanmar authorities for crimes committed in Rakhine State. In February 2025, an Argentine court issued arrest warrants for 25 individuals from Myanmar, including Min Aung Hlaing. “To fully address the scale of the crimes against the Rohingya, it is key to seek justice and accountability through different avenues,” said Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK. “This case and the pursuit of justice are not only about accountability for past atrocities, but about preventing future ones.” Gambia’s filing in 2019 was the first time that a country without any direct connection to the alleged crimes used its membership in the Genocide Convention to bring a case before the ICJ. In December 2023, South Africa filed a case with the ICJ alleging that Israel violated the Genocide Convention by committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and by failing to prevent it, including by not holding senior Israeli officials and others accountable for their direct and public incitement to genocide. In January, March, and May 2024, the court issued provisional measures, but Israel has flouted the court’s orders to open the crossings into Gaza and allow sufficient humanitarian aid in. “Myanmar’s case before the ICJ is a beacon of hope for hundreds of thousands of people like myself that our plight for justice will not go unheard,” said Lucky Karim, founder and executive director of Refugee Women for Peace and Justice. “This and other cases before the ICJ are powerful warnings to abusive states across the world that one day, they too may be called to respond for their actions before a court of law.”

Originally published by Asia Justice Coalition As we mark the eighth year since the 2017 Rohingya exodus from Rakhine State to Bangladesh during the Myanmar military’s so-called ‘clearance operations’, the deteriorating situation of the Rohingya in both Myanmar and Bangladesh warrants urgent, coordinated, and decisive interventions from the international community. In blatant breach of the provisional measures order of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Five-Point Consensus, the Myanmar military continues to commit indiscriminate violence constituting crimes against humanity and war crimes, including airstrikes, drone attacks, heavy artillery shelling, and landmine casualties across the country, in clear violation of international humanitarian and human rights law. The military junta has killed more than 7,074 civilians, and over 22,314 people have been arbitrarily arrested and remain under detention, with widespread and systematic reports of torture, ill treatment, and sexual violence. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 3.6 million people have been internally displaced, and 19.9 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian aid. The devastating 28 March earthquake further deepened the humanitarian crisis in the country. The dissolution of the State Administration Council and the proposed election beginning 28 December 2025 by Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing, which will neither be free nor fair, threaten and risk further escalation of violence and hostilities between various non-state armed groups and the military. The military intends to legitimize its coup by conducting a sham election. The new election law is vague, overbroad, and imposes severe punishment, including the death penalty, for anyone who opposes or disrupts the elections. The intensified conflict in Rakhine State between the military and the Arakan Army has resulted in the mass displacement, deaths, and loss of property of thousands of civilians, including the Rohingya. The Arakan Army has been committing extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, forced labour, arbitrary raids, and widespread arson against the Rohingya, resulting in mass displacement. The military junta continues to persecute the Rohingya with impunity, especially more than 600,000 of those living under internment conditions in Rakhine State. The deliberate humanitarian and trade blockade imposed by the military, which is further compounded by the Arakan Army and may constitute war crimes, has contributed to a famine-like situation in Rakhine State. In Bangladesh, the refugee camps have been witnessing new arrivals of refugees from Myanmar since 2021. According to UNHCR, over 150,000 refugees have fled across the border from Myanmar since 2024, making it the largest movement of the Rohingya since 2017. The situation in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char, with over 1 million refugees, is dire due to major cuts in humanitarian aid by foreign donors. These budget cuts have worsened the crisis in the camps, resulting in malnutrition due to the slashed food rations of less than $6 a month, closure of thousands of non-governmental organization-run learning centers for the refugee children, and reduced healthcare services, waste management, and maintenance of infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and toilets. This dire situation especially affects vulnerable groups—women, children, and the elderly. Due to overcrowding in the camps and persistent restrictions on the Rohingya’s freedom of movement and access to healthcare, employment, and livelihood, their susceptibility to abuse and exploitation, human trafficking, and child and forced marriages has been exacerbated. The widespread operation of Rohingya armed groups, in particular the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), has significantly undermined the security in the refugee camps in Bangladesh, resulting in extrajudicial killings, abductions, sexual and gender-based violence, and torture. Rohingya men and boys, including LGBTQIA+ members, are also forcibly recruited and transferred to Myanmar to take part in the hostilities without protection or training by both the military junta and the Arakan Army. In search of safety and better living conditions in 2024, more than 7,800 Rohingya undertook perilous sea journeys, out of which over 650 people died or were reported missing. In violation of the non-refoulement obligation under international law, the Bangladesh authorities have been forcibly returning people fleeing violence by the Arakan Army, which exercises majority control over the Rakhine State. These pushbacks force Rohingya to live under de facto apartheid-like conditions where they face severe and systematic discrimination and restrictions on movement, access to education, employment, and healthcare. A High-Level conference on the situation of Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar, proposed by Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, will be held on 30 September at UN Headquarters. The conference aims to propose a ‘comprehensive, innovative, concrete, and time-bound plan for a sustainable resolution of the crisis’. However, its call for ‘meaningful participation’ is undermined by a recent U.S. travel ban on Myanmar nationals, effectively limiting all Burmese citizens. The stateless status and lack of proper documentation for the Rohingya also severely restrict their ability to participate. While the live-streaming of proceedings on UN Web TV is a welcome step, the event stands to lack inclusive effective representation and dialogue on pathways for the future, given concerns recently raised regarding the selection of ‘the voice of the Rohingya’ in the camps. Additionally, the exclusion of Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar Thomas H. Andrews from the conference is deeply concerning and must be reversed. In the absence of the possibility of the voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return of Rohingya, the Bangladesh government and the international community must abandon their primary focus on repatriation program. Repatriation of the Rohingya to Myanmar is premature until the root causes, including accordance of ethnic identity and citizenship status, are addressed. Any such future roadmap, including return policy, must not be rushed but be carefully constructed, be victim- and survivor-centered, and include Rohingya, especially women and youth leaders, in policymaking and implementation. We welcome the movement in the ongoing cases at the ICJ in The Gambia v. Myanmar alleging violations of the Genocide Convention, where interventions by four more states have been accepted and the submission of the application of the arrest warrant against Min Aung Hlaing to the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution of the Rohingya. The issuance of arrest warrants against 25 Myanmar military and civilian officials in Argentina, including Min Aung Hlaing and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Soe Win, marked the first time any public warrants have been issued towards securing justice for the Rohingya. However, the progress in these cases is slow, and there is no legal or judicial proceeding underway seeking accountability for post-coup human rights abuses, including those committed by the Arakan Army. The waning attention and mixed messages of the UN Member States, including ASEAN and neighboring countries, have emboldened the Myanmar military and left the Rohingya with an uncertain and precarious future. The Rohingya Joint Response Plan for 2025-2026 calls for a total of $934.5 million, but it has only received 35% of the funding to date. The international community must urgently bridge the funding gap by pledging resources and funding for the Rohingya by respecting the principle of equitable burden- and responsibility-sharing with the host state. UN Member States should undertake immediate action without delay—collectively and individually—to cease the ongoing hostilities and hold the Myanmar military and Arakan Army accountable, including through exercising universal jurisdiction, ending arms transfers to the military, and ensuring unimpeded humanitarian aid throughout the country without distinction, including cross-border aid. The UN Security Council must hold a public session on the situation in Myanmar without delay, impose targeted economic sanctions on the Myanmar military and affiliates, establish a binding global arms embargo, including on transfers of jet fuel and dual-use technology, and refer the full situation, including post-coup crimes, to the ICC.

Prosecutors in Argentina are seeking new arrest warrants as part of the universal jurisdiction case considering genocide of the Rohingya. The warrant applications include senior military and civilian leaders. Michelle Onello, senior legal advisor for the Global Justice Center, issued the following statement: "The Argentine prosecutor’s petition for twenty-five warrants for atrocities committed in Myanmar is an encouraging step to finally hold the military accountable for the brutal crimes perpetrated against the Rohingya. As the military junta steps up its attacks, especially in Rakhine state, greater international efforts should be made to support the Myanmar people’s fight for democracy and eliminate the impunity that the military has long-enjoyed for its heinous human rights abuses."

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 United Nations Security Council today passed a resolution urging an end to the crisis in Myanmar. Despite decades of human rights abuses by the military, including the 2017 genocide of the Rohingya and the 2021 military coup, today’s resolution is the first the Security Council has passed on the situation in Myanmar. Passed without opposition and three abstentions, the resolution “expressed deep concern” at the ongoing state of emergency imposed by the military and its impact on civilians. It stressed the need for humanitarian access to the country and the release of political prisoners. The resolution also set a timeframe for future Security Council attention, requesting a report from the UN Secretary General or the Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Myanmar by March 15, 2023.  Akila Radhakrishnan, president of the Global Justice Center, issued the following statement: “Today’s resolution is long overdue, but it’s still a critical step forward for a Security Council whose silence on Myanmar had long supported global inaction and continued a cycle of impunity in the face of staggering human rights abuses. We know the Security Council has a legal and moral responsibility to respond to the crisis in Myanmar. And this resolution offers some reassurance that Council members understand this fact. “However, we can’t deny that Council members missed an opportunity for more robust action. Most important was their failure to create a mechanism for regular reporting on the situation in Myanmar. This is a crisis that is continuously evolving and deepening. So it is urgent that Council members treat this resolution as a first step by developing a comprehensive and ongoing plan of action.”

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 — Reports surfaced today that the United States will formally determine that atrocities committed against the Rohingya minority by Myanmar’s military in northern Rakhine State amount to genocide and crimes against humanity. The Biden administration will officially announce the designation tomorrow. Akila Radhakrishnan, President of the Global Justice Center, issued the following statement: “This is a welcome, yet long overdue step from the Biden administration. Recognizing the crimes against Rohingya for what they are — a genocide — is necessary if the world hopes to marshal a swift and appropriate response. So it’s absolutely crucial that this designation is followed by a renewed campaign of action from the United States to hold the military accountable. The same military who committed genocide against the Rohingya are those who are illegally in power as a result of a military coup — the cycle of impunity must be broken. “Powerful measures the US could take include pushing the UN Security Council to refer the crisis to the International Criminal Court, taking the lead in demanding a global arms embargo, and securing humanitarian access to vulnerable populations in the country. “Any such renewed effort from the US should also explicitly recognize the gendered nature of this genocide. The military’s systemic use of sexual and other gendered violence is critical to understanding both the Rohingya genocide and its ongoing post-coup crimes.”

International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearings beginning February 21, 2022 underline the critical importance of bringing justice for the Myanmar military’s abuses against ethnic Rohingya, Human Rights Watch and the Global Justice Center said today. The groups released a question-and-answer document outlining recent developments in the case, including the impact of the February 1, 2021 military coup in Myanmar, on the ICJ proceedings. The hearings at the court from February 21 to 28 are for the case brought by Gambia against Myanmar alleging that the military’s atrocities in Rakhine State against Rohingya Muslims violate the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention). “The International Court of Justice hearings are the next step in the landmark case to break the cycle of violence and impunity in Myanmar,” said Nushin Sarkarati, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch. “The case could build a pathway to justice, not only for the Rohingya, but for everyone in the country.” In November 2019, Gambia filed a case before the ICJ alleging that Myanmar’s atrocities against the Rohingya in Rakhine State violate various provisions of the Genocide Convention. The case before the ICJ is not a criminal case against individual alleged perpetrators, but a legal determination of state responsibility for genocide. The ICJ held hearings in December 2019, on Gambia’s request, for provisional measures to protect the Rohingya remaining in Myanmar from genocide, which the court unanimously adopted in January 2020. The new hearings will cover Myanmar’s preliminary objections to the case, which challenge the court’s jurisdiction and Gambia’s legal standing to file the case. The court’s provisional measures require Myanmar to prevent all genocidal acts against the Rohingya, to ensure that security forces do not commit acts of genocide, and to take steps to preserve evidence related to the case. Myanmar is legally bound to comply with this order. However, Human Rights Watch and others have documented ongoing grave abuses against the 600,000 Rohingya remaining in Myanmar, contravening the provisional measures ordered by the court. Since the February 2021 coup, junta security forces have carried out mass killings, torture, sexual violence, arbitrary arrests, and other abuses that Human Rights Watch believes amount to crimes against humanity. Security forces have killed over 1,500 people since the coup, including at least 100 children, and arbitrarily detained over 11,000 activists, politicians, journalists, and others. Rohingya have also faced even greater movement restrictions and harsher punishments for attempting to leave Rakhine State, which amount to the crimes against humanity of persecution, apartheid, and severe deprivation of liberty. In 2019, Myanmar’s government appointed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi to lead its delegation to the ICJ. During the 2021 coup, the military arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and a junta-controlled court sentenced her to six years in prison. She still faces over 150 years in prison combined on various additional fabricated charges. On June 24, 2021, the junta announced that it appointed a panel of eight senior junta officials to represent Myanmar’s delegation before the court. During the February hearings, representatives of Myanmar and Gambia will present arguments as to whether the ICJ has jurisdiction to examine the genocide claims against Myanmar. The hearings will take place in a hybrid format, including both in-person and virtual participants. Live streaming of the hearings will be available in English and French on the court’s website and on UN Web TV. While the ICJ case focuses exclusively on alleged crimes against the Rohingya, the military has committed brutal abuses across Myanmar. In the wake of the coup, ethnic groups have sought greater solidarity in the pursuit of justice, as the military’s atrocities against the Rohingya have been echoed in attacks on civilians around the country. The ICJ case could set the stage to scrutinize the Myanmar military’s longstanding international crimes more widely, Human Rights Watch and the Global Justice Center said. “As the Myanmar military continues to commit atrocities against anti-coup protesters and ethnic minorities, it should be put on notice there will be consequences for these actions – past, present, and future,” said Akila Radhakrishnan, president of the Global Justice Center. “The ICJ’s proceedings are laying the groundwork for accountability in Myanmar – not only for the Rohingya, but for all others who have suffered at the hands of the military.” For a question-and-answer document on recent developments on Gambia’s Case Against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice, please visit: https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/02/14/developments-gambias-case-against-myanmar-international-court-justice For more Human Rights Watch reporting on international justice, please visit: https://www.hrw.org/topic/international-justice For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Myanmar, please visit: https://www.hrw.org/asia/myanmar-burma For more on the Global Justice Center’s work on Myanmar, please visit: https://globaljusticecenter.net/our-work/demanding-justice-for-sexual-and-gender-based-violence/mass-atrocity-crimes