New York/The Hague, 15 November 2019
PGA welcomes the decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an investigation into the alleged crimes against humanity committed in the People's Republic of Bangladesh/Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
The ICC Chamber confirmed that, since at least 9 October 2016, members of the Myanmar military, jointly with other security forces and with participation of local civilians, may have committed the crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution on grounds of ethnicity and/or religion against the Rohingya population. An estimated 600,000 to one million Rohingya were forcibly displaced from Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh as a result of the alleged coercive acts.
PGA members strongly endorse this legal development, which sets the course of justice for the Rohingya victims in motion. The Convenor of PGA’s International Law and Human Rights Program, Hon. Kula Segaran, MP (Malaysia’s Minister of Human Resources), stated:
It is time for the International Community to concretely support the efforts of the ICC to put an end to the impunity of the leaders of the Myanmar military regime and its death squads: Ethnic cleansing in the Rakhine State of Myanmar must be halted and perpetrators of mass atrocities shall be brought to justice.
The President of PGA, Ms. Margareta Cederfelt, MP (Sweden) called on...
...all States to fully cooperate with the ICC to ensure that victims-survivors are heard and their appalling stories of human suffering are preserved as valid evidence for future trials. PGA continues to work with our Bangladeshi Parliamentarians and other Lawmakers in countries hosting Rohingya refugees to ensure that their domestic legislation is fully aligned with the requirements of the Rome Statute of the ICC.
With his speech at the UN headquarters in September 2019, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Hon. Mahathir Mohamad, vigorously condemned the commission of international crimes, including genocide, against Rohingyas and called on all states to unite efforts in halting the atrocities:
What happened in the Rakhine State is genocide. What took place were mass killings, systematic rape and other gross violations of human rights. This resulted in Rohingyas fleeing the country en masse. […] Malaysia has done and will continue to do what it can. Nevertheless, we hope others would also join us and Bangladesh in our resolve to end the miseries that have befallen the Rohingyas. We need to put an end to the crisis and we need to do it now.
Urging States that expressed solidarity with victims in this situation to join promptly the Rome Statute system, the Secretary-General of PGA, Dr. David Donat Cattin, emphasised:
Now it’s time for States who have a policy that supports the cause of the Rohingya victims to ratify the Rome Statute of the ICC and contribute to the ICC project in a concrete and direct manner: Democratic countries like Malaysia and Morocco shall remove all the doubts and misunderstandings that have so far negatively impacted the Rome Statute accession process in intellectual circles. With the Myanmar investigation, the ICC is proving to be a powerful tool to investigate and prosecute mass murderers and war-lords. There is nothing to fear in law-abiding States like Malaysia and Morocco, where the effective Heads of Government who exercise authority and control over the armed forces and the security sector are performing their constitutional duties to prevent and outlaw genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes against the peace.
In parallel to the ICC proceedings, on 11 November 2019, the Gambia, with the support of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), instituted proceedings against the Republic of the Union of Myanmar before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), alleging violations of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide through “acts adopted, taken and condoned by the Government of Myanmar against members of the Rohingya group”. The Gambia also requested the indication of provisional measures, seeking to protect the rights of the Rohingya people and to prevent the aggravation or extension of the dispute pending the final judgment of the ICJ.
PGA strongly endorses the decision to bring the matter to the International Court of Justice, expressing hope that other countries would support this important initiative, bearing in mind that only the ICC or domestic criminal jurisdictions can ensure that perpetrators are held accountable for the atrocity-crimes that they have committed.
Background of the situation
From approximately October 2016, the Myanmar military (the ‘Tatmadaw’) and other Myanmar security forces began widespread and systematic ‘clearance operations’ - the term that Myanmar itself uses - against the Rohingya group. According to relevant reports issued by NGOs and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, genocidal acts may have been committed during these operations, which may have been directed to destroy the Rohingya as a group, in whole or in part, by the use of mass murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, as well as the systematic destruction by fire of their villages, often with inhabitants locked inside burning houses. From August 2017 onwards, such alleged genocidal acts continued with Myanmar’s resumption of ‘clearance operations’ on a more massive and wider geographical scale.
The atrocities committed against Rohingya have prompted the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to label the army’s actions “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and possibly genocide.
In response to these grave crimes, on 4 July 2019 the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC submitted a request to the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber for an opening of an investigation into alleged crimes within the ICC's jurisdiction committed against the Rohingya people from Myanmar. The Pre- Trial Chamber concluded that the Court may exercise jurisdiction over crimes when part of the criminal conduct takes place on the territory of a State Party. While Myanmar is not a State Party, Bangladesh ratified the ICC Rome Statute in 2010.
Consequently, Pre-Chamber III has authorised on 14 November 2019 the commencement of the investigation in relation to any crime, including any future crime, as long as: a) it is within the jurisdiction of the Court, b) it is allegedly committed at least in part on the territory of Bangladesh, or on the territory of any other State Party or State accepting the ICC jurisdiction, c) it is sufficiently linked to the situation as described in the present decision, and d) it was allegedly committed on or after the date of entry into force of the Rome Statute for Bangladesh or other relevant State Party.
