Rohingya genocide case at ICJ: Canada, Netherlands to assist with legal issues

Canada and the Netherlands have decided to intervene in the matter of Rohingya genocide case filed by The Gambia at International Court of Justice (ICJ) in November last year.

"Canada and the Netherlands consider it our obligation to support these efforts which are of concern to all of humanity," said a joint statement posted on the Netherland government website yesterday.

As part of this intervention, Canada and Netherlands will assist with the complex legal issues that are expected to arise and will pay special attention to crimes related to sexual and gender-based violence, including rape, it said.

The Gambia, with support from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), filed the case with the ICJ more than two years after some 750,000 Rohingyas fled a brutal military campaign in Myanmar's Rakhine state and joined some 300,000 others who fled earlier waves of violence in Myanmar since the 1980s.

The UN Security Council could not take any concrete actions against Myanmar because of opposition from veto powers China and Russia. A small African country The Gambia filed the case, but not many countries supported it, except for Canada and Netherlands. The UK welcomed the ICJ decision and European Union called for Myanmar to comply with ICJ order.

The ICJ in January this year issued a rule asking Myanmar to prevent any acts of genocide against the Rohingya and protect the evidence.

In the statement, Canada and Netherlands said the Gambia's application shows the discrimination and persecution of the Rohingya in Myanmar, which created the conditions for Myanmar's security forces to perpetrate targeted and systemic atrocities against the Rohingya.

Myanmar's violations include the commission of genocide against the Rohingya, mostly by way of the systematic and widespread perpetration of mass murder, sexual violence, torture, forced displacement, and denial of access to food and shelter, according to the Gambia's application.

Canada and The Netherlands lauded the Gambia's case saying it is a step towards ending impunity for those committing atrocities in Myanmar, and called for the states' parties to the Genocide Convention to support the Gambia.

Welcoming the decision, The Burmese Rohingya Organzation UK (BROUK) said it is a historic decision that will further the cause of justice for Rohingya victims and survivors of the 2017 genocide, and help hold those responsible for war crimes to account.

"Slowly but surely, the net is closing in on Myanmar's leaders – they will not get away with this genocide," BROUK President Tun Khin said.

"In supporting the Gambia's genocide case against Myanmar, Canada and the Netherlands are not just standing with Rohingya victims, they are standing on the right side of history," he said urging other governments to demonstrate similar leadership by supporting of The Gambia's case.

BROUK said lasting peace and stability in Myanmar cannot be achieved in the absence of justice. Signs of history are repeating itself, it said, adding that in Rakhine, the genocide against the Rohingya is ongoing.

Rohingya civilians continue to be forced from their homes and placed into cramped IDP camps, cut off from the outside world and denied internet access. Across the country, Rohingya are denied citizenship and are being denied the right to vote and compete in the upcoming parliamentary elections, Tun Khin said.

It is critical that the international community move quickly to stop the ongoing genocide against Rohingya in Rakhine State, support independent, impartial accountability efforts, enable Rohingya enfranchisement and support a safe, voluntary and dignified repatriation process.