Welcome back to the Race Review! My name is Rosel and I’ll be your news writer in residence every other week, giving you all the details of race-related matters you may have celebrated, missed or just avoided entirely. In this edition, we’ll be tackling the ruling by the International Criminal Justice (ICJ) to protect Rohingya Muslims and what gives us hope in the face of climate change.
REFLECT: The end is nigh
Between the outbreak of Coronavirus, Kenya’s worst locust infestation in 70 years and the UK-Africa summit settling 90% of energy deals in fossil fuels, you’d be forgiven for catastrophising.
However, it’s the efforts of climate activists like Vanessa Nakate that serve as a shot in the arm to turn despair into resolve. After being unfairly cropped out of a photo with the rest of her white peers at the World Economic Forum in Davos by Associated Press, she hit back against racist reporting of the event. Vanessa started and co-ordinated the first climate strikes in Uganda, tirelessly advocating for how climate change will affect her community.
This omission from a newswire (where most outlets get their news from) means that she had essentially been cut out of the narrative, a perfect demonstration of how outside the narrow glare of what the media deems newsworthy black women are doing amazing, transformational work. Thank god for the double-edged sword that is the internet for affording Vanessa a voice to tell her truth. Let this be a lesson to dig deeper into news and diversify your sources.
However, it’s the efforts of climate activists like Vanessa Nakate that serve as a shot in the arm to turn despair into resolve. After being unfairly cropped out of a photo with the rest of her white peers at the World Economic Forum in Davos by Associated Press, she hit back against racist reporting of the event. Vanessa started and co-ordinated the first climate strikes in Uganda, tirelessly advocating for how climate change will affect her community.
This omission from a newswire (where most outlets get their news from) means that she had essentially been cut out of the narrative, a perfect demonstration of how outside the narrow glare of what the media deems newsworthy black women are doing amazing, transformational work. Thank god for the double-edged sword that is the internet for affording Vanessa a voice to tell her truth. Let this be a lesson to dig deeper into news and diversify your sources.
REPORT: The UN’s highest court rules in favour of Rohingya Muslims
In November, The Gambia filed a case to the ICJ, the UN’s highest court, aginst the government in Myanmar for breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention in its treatment of Rohingya Muslims. More than half a million Rohingya Muslims have fled the majority Buddhist country whose military and paramilitary affiliates have inflicted mass killings, sexual violence and widespread arson upon them.
Pending an official ruling, the ICJ has imposed “provisional measures” meaning that the Myanmar government is legally obliged to ensure the protection of the religious and ethnic minorities. While the case is ongoing, Myanmar must regularly report to the courts on how they are abiding by the ruling. Perhaps most significantly, the ruling recognises the identity of Rohingya Muslims and their right to safety, the denial of which has enabled government-led oppression and ethnic cleansing.
Putting a chink in the genocidal armour of all nation-states, the case sets an important precedent. It affirms that genocide and crimes against humanity can be brought before the court by any nation-state, not just those directly affected. “Now all the perpetrators across the world will be quite worried because any country can actually take up the matter,” said Dr Mohammad Shahabuddin, reader in International Law and Human Rights at the University of Birmingham. He told gal-dem that “if Myanmar does not follow the ICJ’s decision, the UN itself has the legal right to take punitive measures”.
Activist and co-founder of the Free Rohingya Coalition, Ro Nay San Lwin, is confident that the government will abide by the ruling for this reason. “They don’t want the country in trouble. There are a lot of countries behind (this ruling). The Gambia is not alone,” he explained. However, the fight to end Myanmar’s tyranny is far from over. “So far, the US and the EU has failed to impose sanctions. The day before the ICJ hearing, we launched the Boycott Myanmar campaign. We will go ahead with this campaign to stop all the investment to the country.”
Since the ruling came through on Thursday, the government have continued to deny that any genocide has taken place.
Pending an official ruling, the ICJ has imposed “provisional measures” meaning that the Myanmar government is legally obliged to ensure the protection of the religious and ethnic minorities. While the case is ongoing, Myanmar must regularly report to the courts on how they are abiding by the ruling. Perhaps most significantly, the ruling recognises the identity of Rohingya Muslims and their right to safety, the denial of which has enabled government-led oppression and ethnic cleansing.
Putting a chink in the genocidal armour of all nation-states, the case sets an important precedent. It affirms that genocide and crimes against humanity can be brought before the court by any nation-state, not just those directly affected. “Now all the perpetrators across the world will be quite worried because any country can actually take up the matter,” said Dr Mohammad Shahabuddin, reader in International Law and Human Rights at the University of Birmingham. He told gal-dem that “if Myanmar does not follow the ICJ’s decision, the UN itself has the legal right to take punitive measures”.
Activist and co-founder of the Free Rohingya Coalition, Ro Nay San Lwin, is confident that the government will abide by the ruling for this reason. “They don’t want the country in trouble. There are a lot of countries behind (this ruling). The Gambia is not alone,” he explained. However, the fight to end Myanmar’s tyranny is far from over. “So far, the US and the EU has failed to impose sanctions. The day before the ICJ hearing, we launched the Boycott Myanmar campaign. We will go ahead with this campaign to stop all the investment to the country.”
Since the ruling came through on Thursday, the government have continued to deny that any genocide has taken place.
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