Press Release
Dated: 23 January 2020
We, at the Rohingya Human Rights Initiative (ROHRIngya) welcome today the unprecedented and unanimous judgement by the principal organ of the United Nation (UN), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), ordering the Government of Myanmar to respect its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, in relation to the Rohingya minority group. Myanmar has been instructed by ICJ to take all measures to prevent, in particular:
(a) Killing members of the Rohingya group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to the members of the Rohingya group;
(c) deliberately inflicting on the Rohingya group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the Rohingya group.
In addition to the above, Myanmar has also been urged to take effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of acts within the scope of Article II of the aforementioned Convention.
We thank the Gambian Government and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation for raising the issue of genocide of the Rohingya in Myanmar at the ICJ. We also express serious concern at the report of the Myanmar government-appointed panel, the Independent Commission of Enquiry, released recently, that states that the atrocities and crimes committed against the Rohingyas have not had any genocidal intent. This clearly contradicts the findings of the UN Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar in 2018 and 2019, and the ICJ ruling.
We earnestly hope that the Myanmar Government will respect the sanctity of international law and take the necessary steps to put an immediate end to violence against the Rohingya and destruction of evidence relating to allegations of violence against the community. Furthermore, we request the international community to fulfil its responsibility in ensuring Myanmar adheres to the ICJ ruling through all means at their disposal.
By the Rohingya Human Rights Initiative (ROHRIngya