January 24, 2020
The International Court of Justice issued an important decision aimed at
protecting Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority, but its impact is
unclear.
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi listens as Gambian Justice Minister
Abubacarr Tambadou speaks at a hearing at the International Court of
Justice in The Hague, Netherlands.
The wheels of international justice turn slowly, but this week they sped up to protect the rights of the Rohingya, an ethnic Muslim minority population in Myanmar that has suffered brutal assaults by government forces since 2016. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the primary judicial organ of the United Nations, ordered Myanmar to cease and desist all forms of alleged genocide against the Rohingya and to preserve evidence about alleged genocidal acts. How Myanmar intends to respond to the ruling remains to be seen.