The UN’s top court on Thursday ordered Myanmar to do all it can to prevent genocide against the Rohingya people, a ruling met by members of the Muslim minority with gratitude and relief, but also some skepticism that the country’s rulers would fully comply.
The ruling by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, came despite appeals last month by Burmese State Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi for the judges to drop the case amid her denials of genocide by the armed forces that once held the former pro-democracy champion under house arrest for 15 years.
Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, president of the court, said in his order that the Rohingya in Myanmar “remain extremely vulnerable.”
Photo: AP
In a unanimous decision, the 17-judge panel added that its order for so-called provisional measures intended to protect the Rohingya is binding “and creates international legal obligations” on Myanmar.
While the court has no ability to enforce the orders, one international law expert said the ruling would strengthen other nations pressing for change in Myanmar.
“Thus far, it’s been states trying to put pressure on Myanmar or using their good offices or ... diplomatic pressure,” said Priya Pillai, head of the Asia Justice Coalition Secretariat. “Now, essentially for any state, there is legal leverage.”
The orders specifically refer to Rohingya still in Myanmar and thus did not look likely to have an immediate impact on more than 700,000 of them who have fled to Bangladesh in recent years to escape the brutal crackdown.
Even so, Yasmin Ullah, a Rohingya activist who lives in Vancouver and was in court for the decision, called it a historic ruling.
“Today, having the judges unanimously agree to the protection of Rohingya means so much to us because we’re now allowed to exist and it’s legally binding,” she told reporters on the steps of the court.
Asked if she believes Myanmar would comply, she replied: “I don’t think so.”
The court also ordered Myanmar to “take effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related” to allegations of genocidal acts.
The judges ordered Myanmar to report to them in four months on what measures it has taken to comply with the order and then to report every six months as the case moves slowly through the world court.
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