Summary

Background

Action required

Model Template

Recipient contact information

Summary

Myanmar has requested that the proceedings against them at the International Court of Justice be dropped. They have used the argument that the Gambia is not representing itself but acting as a proxy for the OIC. Hence, the Gambia is not connected or affected by the situation in Myanmar. When acceding to the genocide convention, Myanmar agreed to all articles except Article VIII, which the Gambia uses to proceed. These attempts to use legal loopholes and tricks to stop the proceedings show that Myanmar is worried about losing this case and what that might mean for them. IHRC urges the ICJ not to forsake the Rohingya people and to proceed with the case.

Background

Since the independence of Myanmar, previously called Burma, the Rohingya have suffered persecution, discrimination and, at times, ethnic cleansing. Yet, from 2012 this oppression has evolved into a genocide. By 2018 at least 25,000 Rohingya had been killed by armed bands, mainly by their closest neighbours, the Rakhine, who have been supported by both the military and the National Unity Government. The majority of Rohingya have fled, as part of a deliberate attempt by the Myanmar military to remove them. Many are living in refugee camps elsewhere, particularly in Bangladesh, where they are waiting for repatriation. The United Nations has stated that the Rohingya are the World’s most persecuted minority group, and there are currently believed to be almost 1 million Rohingya refugees in the Bangladeshi Cox’s Bazaar refugee camp. Some are forced to move to the remote and precarious Bhasan Char Island.

In 2019 the Gambia decided to stand up against genocide and for human rights by taking Myanmar to the International Court of Justice. However, with Myanmar’s attempt to use legal loopholes and bureaucracy to have the case thrown out, this is in danger of not happening. Their attempts prove that they may lose this case and that the charge of genocide is inescapable within a fair trial. We demand that this case is not thrown out and that the International Court of Justice moves forward with it.

Action required

1. Send a letter to the International Court of Justice demanding that they do not drop this case.
2. Share this alert and the reports and resources, and encourage others to join this campaign, including human rights organisations, pressure groups and NGO’s.
3. Please ensure you share verified stories and information. Despite this situation existing for decades, mainstream media has only given it importance now, often spreading unverified reports and cases.
4. Keep checking the IHRC’s website:  https://www.ihrc.org.uk/ to see any updates on this campaign or others involving the plight of the Rohingya.

Template Letter

[Your name]

[Your address]

[Date]

Re. Rohingya Genocide Case

Dear Sir Madam,

The case of the Myanmar genocide is an emergency on an unprecedented scale. There is a real threat that it will go unopposed by many international organisations. When genocides happened in the recent past, such as in Srebrenica and Rwanda, we often ask how the world allowed this? And we must learn from these mistakes to ensure they do not happen again. However, we are again seeing a genocide take place, and an attempt by Myanmar to cover this up, not through evidence disproving the genocide, but rather by dropping the case altogether through exploiting legal loopholes. The law must be exercised, but tens of thousands of people being slaughtered and over a million refugees being created, due to a people’s ethnicity and religion should not be tolerated or be allowed to happen due to bureaucratic flaws within a legal system. Especially within an organisation such as the International Court of Justice, which deals with the greatest crime in our history, the crime of genocide.

I hope that you will not drop this case as a result of any of the tricks being proposed by the Myanmar government. The genocide and overall persecution of the Rohingya must be ended, and this must be part of any deal, including different political, religious and ethnic groups being made between different factions currently competing for power in Myanmar. However, this will only be possible with the support of organisations such as the ICJ and with a decision that confirms that this is genocide and therefore make it impossible for Myanmar to continue covering up.

Yours Sincerely

[Your signature]

[Your name]

Address

Peace Palace
Carnegieplein 2
2517 KJ The Hague
The Netherlands

Alternatively, you can email: information@icj-cij.org