The ICJ’s latest judgment in the case of genocide against Myanmar

The ICJ’s latest judgment in the case of genocide against Myanmar

Subject : International Relation

Section: International Organisation

Context: Judges at the United Nations’ highest court have dismissed preliminary objections by Myanmar to a case alleging the Southeast Asian nation is responsible for genocide against the Rohingya ethnic minority.

What is the issue?

• Myanmar’s military launched what it called a clearance campaign in Rakhine state in 2017 in the aftermath of an attack by a Rohingya insurgent group.
• More than 700,000 Rohingya fled into neighbouring Bangladesh and Myanmar security forces have been accused of mass rapes, killings and torching thousands of Rohingya homes.
• Amid international outrage at the treatment of the Rohingya, Gambia filed the case with the world court in November 2019, alleging that Myanmar is breaching the genocide convention
• The nation argued that both Gambia and Myanmar are parties to the convention and that all signatories have a duty to ensure it is enforced.

Background:

The Genocide Convention:

• The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) is an instrument of international law that codified for the first time the crime of genocide.
• The Genocide Convention was the first human rights treaty adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 9 December 1948 
• According to the Genocide Convention, genocide is a crime that can take place both in time of war as well as in time of peace.
• The Convention establishes on State Parties the obligation to take measures to prevent and to punish the crime of genocide, including by enacting relevant legislation and punishing perpetrators
• That obligation, in addition to the prohibition not to commit genocide, has been considered as norms of international customary law and therefore, binding on all States, whether or not they have ratified the Genocide Convention.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ)

• It is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN).
• It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946.
• The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).
• Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York (United States of America).
• The Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.
• The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council.
• Its official languages are English and French.