Junta Military Must Not Represent Burma in ICJ Proceedings
February 21st, 2022
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will start proceedings to hear Burma’s objections to a genocide case brought against it over their brutal 2017 military crackdown against Rohingya Muslims. Justice For All Canada endorsed the legal case filed by The Gambia, after 700,000 Rohingya fled when the Burmese military was mercilessly burning entire villages and carrying out large-scale killings, gang rape, and other human rights abuses.
Our Burma Task Force (BTF) will be monitoring the hearings and convening online discussions with legal advocates. According to Adem Carroll, BTF Team Lead, the military junta should not represent Burma’s government in the ICJ proceedings. The international community should not legitimize the junta after it deposed the democratically elected Burmese government.
Burma Task Force first began its work in 2012 in response to the persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Rakhine State. The persecution became a military-led genocide, with thousands killed, hundreds of villages destroyed, and lands seized and sold. Over a million Rohingya are still displaced in refugee camps in Bangladesh. In the absence of justice in Burma, international courts are necessary to hold the perpetrators accountable for the mass atrocities and displacement perpetrated by Burmese troops and their leaders.
Burma Task Force Canada (Canadian chapter of BTF) advocated strongly at the height of the genocide in 2017. Since our work with Hon. Bob Rae, former Special Envoy to Myanmar, there has been no change in the extreme brutality of the Burmese military. In January 2022, Canada announced additional sanctions against three Burmese individuals in response to continued disregard for the human rights of the people of Burma and their calls for democracy.
In failing to hold Burmese authorities fully responsible for its mass atrocities targeting the Rohingya minority, the international community sent a signal to Burmese military leaders that they could risk a power grab. This has resulted in a shattered nation facing starvation along with state-sponsored torture, bombings and killings.
According to Sharifah Shakirah, BTF Program Associate and Rohingya Women Development Network (RWDN) Lead: "Rohingya refugees have been scattered worldwide by the genocidal persecution in Burma. I am one of these Rohingya refugees. We want peace, justice and citizenship rights in our homeland. The genocide is ongoing, and the perpetrators' lies should deceive no one. It is concerning to learn that the military has chosen representatives who are themselves being sanctioned for complicity in crimes against our people”.
“Junta military representatives in the legal genocide case must not detract from the goal of achieving justice for Rohingya Muslims. Two years ago, Canada officially joined The Gambia’s legal case to hold these leaders accountable for the genocide. We encourage Canada to continue to intervene to prevent further genocide and hold those responsible”, said Taha Ghayyur, Executive Director of Justice For All Canada.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will start proceedings to hear Burma’s objections to a genocide case brought against it over their brutal 2017 military crackdown against Rohingya Muslims. Justice For All Canada endorsed the legal case filed by The Gambia, after 700,000 Rohingya fled when the Burmese military was mercilessly burning entire villages and carrying out large-scale killings, gang rape, and other human rights abuses.
Our Burma Task Force (BTF) will be monitoring the hearings and convening online discussions with legal advocates. According to Adem Carroll, BTF Team Lead, the military junta should not represent Burma’s government in the ICJ proceedings. The international community should not legitimize the junta after it deposed the democratically elected Burmese government.
Burma Task Force first began its work in 2012 in response to the persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Rakhine State. The persecution became a military-led genocide, with thousands killed, hundreds of villages destroyed, and lands seized and sold. Over a million Rohingya are still displaced in refugee camps in Bangladesh. In the absence of justice in Burma, international courts are necessary to hold the perpetrators accountable for the mass atrocities and displacement perpetrated by Burmese troops and their leaders.
Burma Task Force Canada (Canadian chapter of BTF) advocated strongly at the height of the genocide in 2017. Since our work with Hon. Bob Rae, former Special Envoy to Myanmar, there has been no change in the extreme brutality of the Burmese military. In January 2022, Canada announced additional sanctions against three Burmese individuals in response to continued disregard for the human rights of the people of Burma and their calls for democracy.
In failing to hold Burmese authorities fully responsible for its mass atrocities targeting the Rohingya minority, the international community sent a signal to Burmese military leaders that they could risk a power grab. This has resulted in a shattered nation facing starvation along with state-sponsored torture, bombings and killings.
According to Sharifah Shakirah, BTF Program Associate and Rohingya Women Development Network (RWDN) Lead: "Rohingya refugees have been scattered worldwide by the genocidal persecution in Burma. I am one of these Rohingya refugees. We want peace, justice and citizenship rights in our homeland. The genocide is ongoing, and the perpetrators' lies should deceive no one. It is concerning to learn that the military has chosen representatives who are themselves being sanctioned for complicity in crimes against our people”.
“Junta military representatives in the legal genocide case must not detract from the goal of achieving justice for Rohingya Muslims. Two years ago, Canada officially joined The Gambia’s legal case to hold these leaders accountable for the genocide. We encourage Canada to continue to intervene to prevent further genocide and hold those responsible”, said Taha Ghayyur, Executive Director of Justice For All Canada.