Myanmar on Friday began presenting its defence at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), denying allegations that it committed genocide against the Rohingya minority community and arguing that The Gambia has failed to provide sufficient evidence to support its case.
Addressing the UN’s top court in The Hague, Myanmar government representative Ko Ko Hlaing told judges that the accusations were “unsubstantiated” and insisted that the country’s military operations in Rakhine State were carried out to counter insurgent threats.
Earlier this week, The Gambia’s Foreign Minister Dawda Jallow accused Myanmar of pursuing “genocidal policies” aimed at erasing the Rohingya, a Muslim minority that has faced decades of persecution.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled Myanmar during a military crackdown in 2017, in which thousands were killed and more than 700,000 people escaped to neighbouring Bangladesh, according to the United Nations.
A UN fact-finding mission report issued in 2018 said Myanmar’s top military leaders should be investigated for genocide in Rakhine State and for crimes against humanity in other parts of the country. Myanmar, which has been under military rule since the overthrow of the civilian government in 2021, rejected the findings and has consistently maintained that its operations targeted militants.
Hlaing told the ICJ that “Myanmar was not obliged to remain idle and allow terrorists to have free rein in northern Rakhine State,” where most Rohingya lived.
“These attacks were the reasons for the clearance operations,” he said, describing them as counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism actions.
The Gambia filed the case in 2019, citing a “sense of responsibility” shaped by its own experience under military rule. On Monday, Jallow told the court that the Rohingya had endured “decades of appalling persecution and years of dehumanising propaganda,” followed by military actions that amounted to “continued genocidal policies meant to erase their existence in Myanmar”.
Lawyers representing The Gambia argued that the killing of women, children and the elderly, along with the widespread destruction of Rohingya villages, could not be justified as counter-terrorism operations.
“When the court considers all of the evidence taken together, the only reasonable conclusion is that a genocidal intent permeated Myanmar’s state-led actions against the Rohingya,” said Philippe Sands, counsel for The Gambia. The case is backed by the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
More than one million Rohingya refugees currently live in camps in Bangladesh, primarily in the Cox’s Bazar region, which hosts some of the world’s largest and most densely populated refugee settlements, according to the UN refugee agency.
Hlaing said Myanmar remained committed to repatriating Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh but claimed that external factors, including the Covid-19 pandemic, had slowed the process.
“Myanmar’s commitment and constant efforts since 2017 contradict The Gambia’s narrative that Myanmar intended to destroy or forcibly deport this population,” he told the court.
He added that a genocide ruling would place an “indelible stain” on Myanmar and that the case was of “fundamental importance” to the country’s reputation and future.
The ICJ has also scheduled three days of closed hearings to hear testimony from witnesses, including Rohingya survivors. A final ruling is expected towards the end of 2026, according to Reuters.
Legal experts say the case could set an important precedent for future genocide cases, including one filed by South Africa against Israel over the war in Gaza. It is the first genocide case heard by the ICJ in more than a decade and is seen as an opportunity for judges to further clarify the legal definition of genocide under international law.
The 1948 UN Genocide Convention, adopted in the aftermath of the Holocaust, defines genocide as acts committed “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”
Source: BBC