The United Nations’ highest judicial body is set to open a landmark case accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against its predominantly Muslim Rohingya population.
Hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, begin on Monday at 09:00 GMT and are scheduled to run for three weeks. It is the first genocide case the court will hear in full in more than a decade, with potential implications for how similar cases are assessed globally.
Case Filed After 2017 Military Offensive
The case was brought by The Gambia in 2019, following a 2017 military campaign in Myanmar that forced around 750,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh.
Refugees reported widespread killings, sexual violence, and the burning of villages. A UN fact-finding mission later concluded that Myanmar’s actions included “genocidal acts.” Myanmar’s authorities rejected those findings, saying the operation was a lawful counterterrorism response to attacks by armed groups.
Nicholas Koumjian, head of the UN’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, said the case could set important legal benchmarks. “It is likely to shape how genocide is defined, proven, and remedied,” he told Reuters.
Rohingya Refugees Look to the Court for Justice
In the refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, Rohingya survivors said the hearings offer hope after years of displacement.
“We want justice and peace,” said Janifa Begum, a 37-year-old mother of two. “Villages were burned, men were killed, and women suffered horrific violence.”
Others acknowledged the ICJ has no direct enforcement powers but said the process still matters. “If accountability begins, maybe repatriation can follow,” said Mohammad Sayed Ullah, a former teacher and member of the United Council of Rohingya.
Wai Wai Nu, head of Myanmar’s Women’s Peace Network, said the case brings “renewed hope” that decades of suffering could finally be addressed.
Closed Hearings, Historic Significance
The proceedings will mark the first time Rohingya victims’ accounts are considered by an international court, though the sessions will be closed to the public and media for privacy reasons.
Legal Action Worldwide said an ICJ ruling that finds Myanmar responsible under the Genocide Convention would be a historic step in holding a state legally accountable for genocide.
Parallel Legal Paths and Political Shifts
During preliminary hearings in 2019, Myanmar’s then-leader Aung San Suu Kyi dismissed the genocide allegations as misleading. She was later removed from power in a 2021 military coup that plunged the country into widespread conflict.
Myanmar’s opposition National Unity Government (NUG), formed by ousted lawmakers, has since accepted the ICJ’s jurisdiction and withdrawn earlier objections. In a statement, the NUG acknowledged state failures that “enabled grave atrocities” and formally recognized the Rohingya by name.
Separately, Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing faces an arrest warrant at the International Criminal Court over crimes against humanity related to the Rohingya’s persecution.
Global Attention as Hearings Begin
Rights groups say abuses against the Rohingya have continued since the 2021 coup, while Myanmar is conducting phased elections criticized as neither free nor fair.
As the ICJ hearings get underway, observers say the case could reshape international accountability for mass atrocities — and determine whether justice, long sought by the Rohingya, is finally within reach.