Hearings have begun at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague in a landmark case accusing Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority, Reuters reported.
The case was filed with the court by Gambia in 2019, making it the first genocide case to be heard in full by the ICJ in more than a decade. Experts say the outcome may set key precedents for future genocide cases, as Rohingya victims will address an international court for the first time. Myanmar, meanwhile, has denied all the accusations.
The case centers on a 2017 military offensive in Myanmar that forced around 730,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh, where refugees reported large-scale violence, arson and extrajudicial killings. A UN fact-finding mission concluded that these acts could amount to genocide, which Myanmar rejects.
In 2019, during preliminary hearings, Myanmar’s then-leader Aung San Suu Kyi described Gambia’s allegations as «incomplete and misleading.»
The hearings, which began at 10 a.m. local time on Monday, are expected to last at least three weeks. The sessions are closed to the public due to security and privacy concerns.
