Rohingya genocide case opens at World Court

HRW

A landmark genocide case against Myanmar begins today at the United Nations’ highest court, marking the first time in over a decade that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will hear such allegations in full.

The case, brought by Gambia in 2019, accuses Myanmar of committing genocide against the Rohingya, a Muslim minority in Rakhine state. The hearings in The Hague will run for three weeks and, for the first time, Rohingya victims will be heard by an international tribunal—though behind closed doors to protect privacy and security.

The proceedings stem from a brutal military offensive in 2017 that forced more than 730,000 Rohingya to flee into neighbouring Bangladesh. Survivors reported killings, mass rape and the burning of villages. A UN fact-finding mission later concluded that the campaign included “genocidal acts.” Myanmar has consistently denied the charge, insisting the operation was a legitimate counterterrorism response to militant attacks.

Nicholas Koumjian, head of the UN’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, said the case could set “critical precedents for how genocide is defined, proven, and remedied.” Analysts note that the outcome may also influence South Africa’s separate genocide case against Israel over the war in Gaza.

In preliminary hearings in 2019, Myanmar’s then-leader Aung San Suu Kyi dismissed Gambia’s accusations as “incomplete and misleading.” Since the military seized power in a 2021 coup, the country has been mired in civil conflict, with pro-democracy protests crushed and armed resistance spreading nationwide.

The ICJ hearings open against this backdrop of turmoil, with Myanmar’s generals staging phased elections widely condemned as neither free nor fair. For the Rohingya, many of whom remain in refugee camps in Bangladesh, the case represents a rare chance for international recognition of their suffering.

While the court’s judgment may take years, today’s opening signals a pivotal moment: the world’s top judges will weigh whether Myanmar’s actions against the Rohingya meet the legal threshold of genocide, a decision that could reshape international accountability for mass atrocities.

-2026-01-13