Hearings have begun in a genocide case against Myanmar in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
In 2019, West African nation The Gambia accused Myanmar (in South East Asia) of “genocidal acts” against the Rohingya people.
It is the first case of its kind.
Here’s what you need to know.
Rohingya people
Myanmar is the largest country by area in mainland South East Asia. Its official religion is Buddhism.
Following a military coup in 1962, Myanmar was under totalitarian control for decades. The regime was marked by violent crackdowns against anti-government protesters and mass killings.
The Rohingya people are a Muslim ethnic minority that have lived in Myanmar for generations.
Since the 1980s, authorities have denied them citizenship of Myanmar.
In 2016, a Rohingya militant group called the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacked police in the western Rakhine region on multiple occasions. This region is the Rohingya’s traditional home.
The same year, the Myanmar army was forcing Rohingya out of the area, killing them, and burning their villages, according to a UN report.
In August 2017, Myanmar’s army sent a battalion into Rakhine. The ARSA then attacked a number of police and army officers, killing 12.
In response, Myanmar’s army burned Rohingya villages and killed thousands of civilians.
Advocacy groups have reported widespread rapes and sexual assaults of Rohingya women and girls by the military.
Around 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh, which neighbours Myanmar to the west. They joined anexisting Rohingya population of around 300,000 who had previously fled Myanmar.
To date, more than a million Rohingya live in the world’s largest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, a city in southern Bangladesh.
Humanitarian groups say the camps lack sufficient access to clean water, toilets, food, education, shelter, and space.
ICJ
The ICJ, sometimes called the World Court, rules on disputes between states, and hands down opinions on legal issues brought forward by the UN.
In 2019, the West African nation of The Gambia submitted a case to the ICJ accusing Myanmar of “genocidal acts” against the Rohingya population, in reference to the 2017 crackdown.
Myanmar and The Gambia are signatories to the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Your contribution ensures The Daily Aus can continue doing the work you love.
I want to give $10 monthly to help TDA keep doing the news.
Your details:
Genocide is defined under the Convention as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”.
The case against Myanmar from The Gambia is the first time the ICJ has heard a case filed by a country not directly affected by the alleged genocide.
Other cases have been brought forward by nations impacted by another country’s genocidal acts.
For example, Bosnia and Herzegovina filed a case against Serbia for a 1995 massacre in the town of Srebrenica, which was ruled a genocide in 2007.
Case
Hearings in the case against Myanmar began on 12 January (local time).
The Gambia alleges “Myanmar acted with the intention to destroy the Rohingya as a group, in whole or in
part.”
Among the evidence submitted by The Gambia is documentation from the 2017-19 UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission into Myanmar.
The mission report allegesMyanmar “is failing in its obligation to prevent genocide,”and details “chronic persecution” of the Rohingya.
The case will run for three weeks, with Myanmar representatives expected to present their arguments later this week.
In November, Myanmar said it “rejects the baseless and one-sided quotes” of UN officials “on the situation of human rights in Myanmar”.
The country said a 2025 report on its human rights situation “deliberately exclude[s] and fail[s] to recognise Myanmar’s efforts towards repatriation and the actual situation on the ground.”
The ICJ’s final judgement could take months to be delivered.
Implications
The judgement in the case against Myanmar could impact future genocide cases brought by third-party countries in the ICJ.
While the use of precedent is not mandatory in its judgements, the ICJ often refers to its past decisions to support new ones.
Israel is currently facing allegations of genocide in the ICJ over its actions against Palestinians in Gaza, in a case brought by South Africa.
The deadline for Israel to submit its response to the ICJ is 12 March 2026.
South Africa has made several allegations, including that Israel has committed a genocide, and failed in its obligation toprevent a genocide in Gaza, as specified under the Genocide Convention.
Meanwhile, separately to the ICJ, the International Criminal Court is investigating the Acting President of Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing on charges of crimes against humanity over the 2017 attacks on the Rohingya.
