On 11 November 2019, the Republic of The Gambia filed suit against the Republic of the Union of Myanmar in the International Court of Justice (\u201cICJ\u201d) for violating the Genocide Convention. Two months later at the request of The Gambia, the ICJ ordered the government of Myanmar to take certain actions to protect the Rohingya via \u201cprovisional measures\u201d while the case proceeds. This historic lawsuit brings a critical focus to Myanmar\u2019s responsibility as a state for the Rohingya genocide.<\/p>\n
The Gambia\u2019s case focuses on the actions of Myanmar\u2019s security forces, starting in October 2016 and then again in August 2017, where they engaged in so-called \u201cclearance operations\u201d against the Rohingya, a distinct Muslim ethnic minority, in Rakhine State. The operations, in particular those that started in August 2017, were characterized by brutal violence and serious human rights violations on a mass scale. Survivors report indiscriminate killings, rape<\/a> and sexual violence<\/a>, arbitrary detention, torture, beatings, and forced displacement. As a result, an estimated 745,000 people \u2013 mostly ethnic Rohingya \u2013 were forced to flee to Bangladesh. The \u201cclearance operations\u201d followed decades of institutionalized discrimination and systematic persecution of the Rohingya, including the passage of laws that stripped the Rohingya of their citizenship and restricted their religious freedoms, as well as reproductive and marital rights.<\/p>\n According to the UN Human Rights Council-mandated Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar<\/a> (\u201cFFM\u201d), the treatment of the Rohingya population during the \u201cclearance operations\u201d amounts to genocide<\/a>, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, the commission of which evoke specific obligations and responsibility under international law. In its final report<\/a>, published in September 2019, the FFM concluded that \u201cthe State of Myanmar breached its obligation not to commit genocide\u201d and found that Myanmar \u201ccontinues to harbor genocidal intent\u201d towards the Rohingya, emphasizing the need for accountability.<\/p>\n This fact sheet answers fundamental questions about the ongoing ICJ case, Myanmar\u2019s responsibility for genocide, and its impact on the Rohingya population. (Answers to questions about the early stages of the lawsuit are here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n