Gambia's justice minister told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday that Myanmar deliberately targeted the Rohingya minority with "horrific violence" in an attempt to destroy the community.
"It is not about esoteric issues of international law. It is about real people, real stories, and a real group of human beings. The Rohingya of Myanmar. They have been targeted for destruction," Dawda Jallow told the judges.
He added that the Rohingya people were subjected to "the most horrific violence and destruction one could imagine."
The Gambia requested the ICJ declare that Myanmar breached its obligations under the convention, to order the cessation of any wrongful acts, and to ensure reparations and guarantees of non-repetition for Rohingya victims.
The court previously indicated provisional measures against Myanmar in January 2020, and both parties have since submitted written pleadings on the merits of the case.
"We did not bring this case lightly. We brought this case after reviewing credible reports of the most brutal and vicious violations imaginable inflicted upon a vulnerable group that had been dehumanised and persecuted for many years," Jallow said.
He noted that the government had carefully examined reports from the UN fact-finding mission, as well as those from reputable international human rights organisations, adding that the findings from these diverse and independent sources "left no doubt that Myanmar had to be held accountable for its violations of the Genocide Convention."
"Sadly, Myanmar appears to be trapped in the cycle of atrocities and impunities. Nobody has been held responsible for the crimes against the Rohingya," the minister said.
Eleven states — Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, the Maldives, Slovenia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgium, and Ireland — filed declarations of intervention. The hearings are scheduled to conclude on January 29.
The Muslim Rohingya minority has long suffered oppression in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, where officials have been accused of genocide. About 1 million have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since 2017.
