UNITED NATIONS, Jan 15 (IPS) – On January 12, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) opened landmark hearings in a case brought by the Republic of Gambiaalleging that Myanmar’s military committed brutal genocide against the Rohingya minority during the 2017 crackdown. Described by the United Nations (UN) as a case “years in the making,” the ICJ will spend the next three weeks reviewing evidence and testimony from both sides to determine whether Myanmar’s military has violated the Genocide Convention.
The case is the first genocide case to be fully heard by the International Court of Justice in more than a decade, brought by Gambia in 2019, two years after the Myanmar military’s 2017 crackdown – which resulted in thousands of deaths and mass displacement. UN experts note that the outcome of this case could have implications far beyond Myanmar, potentially shaping other international legal proceedings, such as the South African petition accusing Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip, and helping to define standards of evidence for genocide in contexts such as Darfur in Sudan and Tigray in Ethiopia.
“The case is likely to set critical precedents for how genocide is defined and how genocide can be proven, and how violations can be remedied,” Nicholas Koumjian, head of the UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, told reporters.
Since 2017, Rohingya survivors have described the brutality of Myanmar’s military attacks and their lasting effects, recounting widespread cases of rape, arson and mass killings. The violence has displaced more than 750,000 people to neighboring Bangladesh, where resources are scarce and refugees continue to face discrimination and long-term psychological trauma.
Shortly after the 2017 crackdown, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, then the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: described The Myanmar military’s operations are seen as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” A 2018 UN fact-finding mission concluded that the military’s operations included “genocidal acts.” Myanmar authorities rejected these characterizations, claiming the crackdown was a response to Rohingya armed groups.
On January 12, Gambia’s Justice Minister Dawda Jallow told the International Court of Justice that Gambia officials, after reviewing “credible reports of the most brutal and cruel violations conceivably inflicted on a vulnerable group,” concluded that Myanmar’s military deliberately targeted the Rohingya minority in an attempt to “destroy the community.”
“It’s not about esoteric issues of international law. It’s about real people, real stories and a real group of people: the Rohingya of Myanmar,” Jallow told the ICJ judges. He added that the Rohingya have endured decades of “terrible persecution and years of dehumanizing propaganda” aimed at effectively erasing their existence in Myanmar.
On January 14, Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry released a statement dismissing the accusations of genocide in Gambia as “flawed and unfounded in fact and law,” claiming they relied on biased reports and “unreliable evidence.” The statement notably avoided the term Rohingyainstead referring to the community as “persons from Rakhine State.” The country also claimed that Myanmar is cooperating “in good faith” with the International Court of Justice proceedings, seeing this as a demonstration of its respect for international law.
Lawyers for Myanmar are expected to start presenting their arguments to the ICJ on January 16. UN officials note that after three weeks of testimony, a final ruling from the ICJ could take months or even years and would be legally binding. If Myanmar were found guilty of genocide, such a ruling would place state responsibility on Myanmar, label the country as a “pariah state” and seriously damage its international status.
Such a ruling could force the UN Security Council to take stronger peacekeeping measures and create obligations under the Genocide Convention (of which Myanmar is a party) to prevent further atrocities, punish perpetrators and provide reparations to victims, including potentially conditions for safe, dignified and voluntary return. Even as the case progresses, the International Court of Justice’s existing interim measures require Myanmar to protect the Rohingya community and preserve evidence, although enforcement depends on Myanmar’s compliance.
“The fact that Gambia’s historic case against Myanmar is finally entering the merits phase gives the Rohingya new hope that our decades of suffering will finally end,” he said. Waipe Sound Nowfounder and executive director of the Women’s Peace Network, a human rights group that advocates for marginalized communities in Myanmar. “Amid continued violations against the Rohingya, the world must remain steadfast in pursuing justice and a path to ending impunity in Myanmar and restoring our rights.”
As legal proceedings continue, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and displaced communities in Myanmar’s Rakhine State face an escalating humanitarian crisis in 2026, marked by severe shortages of essential services and increased protection risks. This is evident from figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than a million Rohingya refugees who fled violence in Myanmar now live in the Cox’s Bazar settlement in Bangladesh, one of the largest refugee camps in the world.
Recent humanitarian updates from UNHCR show that Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh continue to live in severely overcrowded shelters with limited access to food, healthcare, education, clean water and sanitation. Their livelihood options remain severely limited as Rohingya refugees are considered stateless. Shelter for newly arrived refugees is becoming increasingly scarce and conditions continue to deteriorate as budget cuts hamper UNHCR’s ability to adequately support affected communities.
Meanwhile, Rohingya civilians residing in Myanmar’s Rakhine State continue to face entrenched discrimination, severe restrictions on movement, persistent insecurity and declining humanitarian access as clashes between armed groups and the military intensify. Humanitarian experts and civil society leaders underscored the importance of the International Court of Justice case, noting that a ruling in favor of Gambia could mark a crucial step toward justice and long-term recovery for the Rohingya community.
“I hope the International Court of Justice will provide some solace to the deep wounds we still carry,” said Mohammad Sayed Ullah, member of the United Council of Rohingya (UCR), a civil society organization founded in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, that advocates for the rights of Rohingya refugees. “The perpetrators must be held accountable and punished. The earlier and fairer the process, the better the outcome will be. Only then can the repatriation process really begin.”
IPS UN office report
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