Myanmar has dismissed accusations of genocide against its Rohingya minority as “flawed and unfounded”, as hearings continue at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. The case, brought by The Gambia, centres on allegations that Myanmar’s military carried out mass killings, rapes and arson during a 2017 crackdown that forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh.

In a statement published by state media, Myanmar’s foreign ministry urged the ICJ to base its judgement strictly on the Genocide Convention, insisting that reports used to support the case were “biased” and “unreliable”. The ministry avoided using the term Rohingya, instead referring to “persons from Rakhine state”.

The hearings, expected to last three weeks, opened with Gambia’s justice minister Dawda Jallow telling judges that the Rohingya “have been targeted for destruction”. Myanmar’s legal team is due to present its defence later this week.

The 2017 military campaign drove more than 700,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh, where around 1.17 million now live in overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar. Survivors have described harrowing experiences of violence, including mass killings and sexual assault, which international observers say bear the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing.

Myanmar’s military, which seized power in a coup in 2021, has consistently argued that its actions were justified in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents that left security personnel dead. Officials maintain that the crackdown was a counter-insurgency operation, not a campaign of genocide.

While the ICJ’s rulings are legally binding, the court has no enforcement mechanism. Any decision in favour of The Gambia could take years and would primarily increase diplomatic and political pressure on Myanmar’s junta.

For now, the hearings highlight the deep divisions between Myanmar’s official narrative and the accounts of Rohingya refugees. The outcome will be closely watched, not only by those displaced but also by governments and rights groups seeking accountability for one of the most pressing human rights crises of recent years.

-2026-01-15

On 1/15/2026 at 11:26 AM, geovalin said:

Myanmar has dismissed accusations of genocide against its Rohingya minority as “flawed and unfounded”

They would say that, wouldn't they.

700.000 fleeing to Bangladesh was the result of a counter insurgency operation?!

Who will buy that?