International Justice orders Myanmar to take all measures to prevent the genocide of Rohingya

The International Court of Justice on Thursday ordered Myanmar to take all measures within its authority to prevent the presumed genocide of the Rohingya Muslim minority in the Buddhist-majority country.

This is the first time that Myanmar has faced a court order because of the military crackdown in 2017 that led to the flight of about 740,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh, with reports of widespread rape, burning of homes and mass killing.

The court agreed to a number of emergency measures that were mainly requested by the Muslim African country of Gambia under the United Nations Charter for the Protection from Genocide of 1948.

Judge Abdul Qawi Ahmed Youssef, who chairs the court - based in The Hague - said that Myanmar should take all measures within its authority to prevent the commission of all acts mentioned in the Charter.

These include "killing members of the group," and forcing members of the group to "life conditions that aim to destroy their presence in whole or in part."

The judge added that the court "considers that the Rohingya in Myanmar are still in a very vulnerable situation."

The court ordered the Myanmar authorities to send a report on this within four months, and then every six months. The Gambia requested that these measures be taken pending the full consideration of the case, which could take years.

And the court that was established after the Second World War to be the supreme judicial tool of the United Nations to adjudicate disputes between countries, had ruled - for the first time - that it had jurisdiction to hear this issue.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi went to The Hague last December to personally defend her country in the face of accusations of widespread rape, arson and murder.

Suu Kyi defended the army, which put her under house arrest for a long time, and said her country was able to investigate any allegations of abuse, warning that the case might reignite the crisis.

Binding provisions
Although its rulings are binding, the International Court of Justice does not have the authority to implement the rulings.

But Assistant Professor of International Law at the University of Leiden, Dutch Sisli Rose, said that "the importance of governance should not be ignored."

"The court rulings and orders bear relatively large legitimacy or authority. Although the situation in Myanmar is very politicized and fragile, international law still plays a role by providing information to international decision makers," Rose told the French press.

Violent acts
This ruling comes days after the Myanmar-appointed IIC concluded that some soldiers may have committed war crimes against the Rohingya minority, but the army was not guilty of genocide.

In a rare move yesterday, Wednesday, more than 100 civil society organizations in Myanmar issued statements expressing their support for the case before the court.

She said that the country's judiciary is unable to guarantee accountability, and has simply enabled perpetrators to "continue to carry out such violent actions with impunity."

The army evaded questions from reporters in the capital, Naypyidaw Thursday morning, and a spokesman for it only said it was "following the government's instructions."

The Gambia filed the case with support from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which includes 57 countries. Canada and the Netherlands also provided support.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, did not attend Thursday's session. Myanmar was represented by the Minister of the State Counsel's Office, Kiwao Tint Sui.