International Court of Justice hearing on persecution of Rohingya minority could impact Gaza case

A Rohingya man builds a new home after a massive fire broke out in 2021 at a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Photo / Getty Images

The United Nations’ top court has begun hearing a landmark genocide case accusing Myanmar of trying to wipe out its Rohingya Muslim minority.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague was told today that Myanmar’s military used “horrific violence” against the group in a military crackdown in 2017.

It is the first genocide case the ICJ has heard at this level in more than a decade and is being watched keenly as a test for how South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza could be dealt with by the court.

Thousands of Rohingya were killed and more than 700,000 fled to neighbouring Bangladesh in August 2017 as Myanmar’s military claimed to be fighting insurgents.

The Gambia brought the case against Myanmar in 2019, accusing it of breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention.

Paul Reichler, the West African nation’s lawyer, accused Myanmar of mass murder and gang rape with the intent to “destroy the Rohingya as a group in whole or in part”.

He also alleged the military carried out systematic clearance operations and deliberately torched villages, including burning children alive.

Speaking at The Hague, Dawda Jallow, the Gambia’s Justice Minister, said the Rohingya were subject to the “most horrific violence and destruction”.

He said: “This is about real people, real stories and a real group of human beings. The Rohingya of Myanmar. They have been targeted for destruction.”

Myanmar has denied the allegation of genocide and will present its arguments between January 16 and 20.

In the case’s 2019 preliminary hearing, Aung San Suu Kyi ,Myanmar’s former leader, dismissed the allegations as a “misleading” picture of an “internal armed conflict”.

She said the crackdown by Myanmar’s armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, was justified to capture Rohingya rebels after a series of attacks killed dozens of soldiers.

She was ousted by the military in February 2021 and has been under house arrest ever since.

The United States officially declared that the violence amounted to genocide in 2022, three years after a UN team said Myanmar harboured “genocidal intent” towards the Rohingya.

Judges ‘may broaden’ definition of genocide

Juliette McIntyre, an international law expert, said the ICJ’s ruling on the Myanmar case would affect South Africa’s case against Israel.

“The legal test for genocide is very strict, but it is possible the judges broaden the definition,” she said.

South Africa has alleged that by killing Palestinians in a way “calculated to bring about their physical destruction”, Israel is committing genocide.

The territory’s Hamas-run Health Ministry says at least 70,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched cross-border attacks on Israel.

Israel has dismissed the case as a “mockery of the Genocide Convention” and claims its military response is justified to destroy the militant group.

The October 7 Hamas attacks killed around 1200 people, while 250 were abducted, according to Israeli tallies.

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