The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations' highest judicial body, will issue its ruling on November 19 to determine if the repression carried out by Myanmar against the Rohingya minority amounts to genocide. This decision follows a case filed seven years ago by The Gambia, which alleges that Myanmar's brutal actions violate the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
For decades, Myanmar has exercised severe repression against this primarily Muslim ethnic group, which has been stripped of citizenship by the ruling power. While the court seated in The Hague lacks the authority to enforce its decisions directly, a verdict favorable to The Gambia would exert significant political pressure on Myanmar. Such an outcome would also be welcomed as an act of justice for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people affected by these events.
Sources: Le Figaro.