Diplomatic Editor, Dhaka
Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (UK) filed a joint declaration of intervention in the case brought by The Gambia against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In popular verse, the case is about of genocide against Rohingya. The government of Netherlands confirms the declaration by publishing a diplomatic statement on Wednesday.
The Gambia initiated a contentious proceeding in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 11 November 2019 bringing allegations of violations of the Genocide Convention 1948 against Myanmar. The case witnessed no intervention requests before this very statement of Wednesday.
As the diplomatic statement states, in these proceedings, The Gambia alleges violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention). It argues that Myanmar’s security forces perpetrate widespread and systemic “clearance operations” against the Rohingya, and that “genocidal acts committed during these operations were intended 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”.
Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are exercising their right to intervene in this case under Article 63(2) of the Statute of the Court in order to set out their interpretation of the relevant provisions of the Genocide Convention before the Court. They recall that the Genocide Convention requires States Parties to prevent the crime of genocide and hold those responsible to account.
Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom further reaffirm their commitment to accountability and international legal order and stress the Court’s vital role in the peaceful settlement of disputes as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.