Myanmar genocide case to go ahead as UN court says it has jurisdiction

Gambia became first and only nation to take up Rohingyas’ cause and file a suit seeking accountability from Myanmar

The International Court of Justice has rejected Myanmar’s objections to a case about the Southeast Asian nation’s alleged ill-treatment of Muslim Rohingya minorities, paving the way for the case to be heard in full.

Officials from the military junta’s administration in Myanmar had argued that Gambia, which had flagged the case in the top UN court, had no standing to do so.

Quashing the objection, presiding judge Joan Donoghue stated on Friday that “Gambia, as a state party to the genocide convention, has standing” as she delivered the summary of the 13-judge panel’s ruling.