The Hague:The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is set to deliver its judgment on November 19 regarding allegations that Myanmar violated the United Nations Genocide Convention in its treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority. The announcement was made by the court late Tuesday.
According to Philippines News agency, the ruling will take place at 10 a.m. local time in The Hague, Netherlands. The case was initiated by Gambia in 2019, with the involvement of 11 other states in the proceedings.
The lawsuit accuses Myanmar of failing to meet its obligations under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide during military operations against the Rohingya. This move by Gambia to bring the case before the UN's highest court was praised as a "historic achievement" by members of the Rohingya community.
The Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority, have faced decades of discrimination and displacement in Myanmar. More than 700,000 fled the country's Rakhine State after a military crackdown in August 2017, with the majority seeking refuge in neighboring Bangladesh. The UN has labeled the Rohingya as the world's most persecuted minority, and a report by the Ontario International Development Agency has estimated that thousands were killed by Myanmar's security forces.
