Byline Times reports on the lawsuit that has just been filed by the Gambia with the UN’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, formally accusing Burma of genocide.
“To date, the international community has pretty much ignored all the recommendations of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission,” Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, said. “More countries including the UK, EU, Canada and USA should be joining Gambia in this case.”
While Gambia’s ICJ filing may be unable to hold specific people to account, another case has been filed in Argentina naming top military and civilian leaders – including Aung San Suu Kyi – under the principle of “universal jurisdiction”. And the International Criminal Court has authorised prosecutors to begin investigating “crimes against humanity of deportation” across the Burma-Bangladesh border, as well as persecution on grounds of ethnicity.
Mark Farmaner said “It is critical that the UN Security Council refer Burma to the ICC so that all crimes committed by the military against all ethnic groups can be investigated, not just crimes against the Rohingya.”