Media Release from Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK

Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) today publishes a new report, ‘Ongoing Rohingya genocide: Myanmar military defies provisional measures ordered by International Court of Justice’, which finds that genocidal acts continue to be perpetrated against the Rohingya by the Myanmar military. The briefing is available via this link: https://www.brouk.org.uk/new-briefing-ongoing-rohingya-genocide-myanmar-military-defies-provisional-measures-ordered-by-international-court-of-justice/

Almost two years have passed since the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Myanmar to ‘take all measures within its power’ to prevent irreparable harm against the Rohingya.  There is mounting evidence that the military junta is not complying with the ICJ’s provisional measures order.

“The Myanmar military continue to enforce policies which are part of the genocide of the Rohingya, in defiance of the International Court of Justice, but no action is being taken to enforce the provisional measures,” said Tun Khin, President of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK. “Once again the international community, through its inaction, is effectively giving the green light to the Myanmar military to continue its genocidal policies against us.”

The military regime continues to deny the existence of the Rohingya group, using the term ‘Bengali’ in a pejorative sense instead. Junta soldiers have continued to routinely harass and arbitrarily arrest and detain Rohingya men and subject them to ill-treatment amounting to torture. The military has also continued to restrict access to livelihoods and healthcare and has blocked humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya, leaving many communities on the brink of starvation. When Rohingya men and women have sought to flee the appalling conditions of life imposed on them by the Myanmar military in Rakhine State, they have been arrested and detained and treated as criminals, further dehumanising them.

These ongoing violations documented by BROUK match the risk factors for genocide, namely ‘patterns of discrimination against protected groups’ and ‘signs of an intent to destroy in whole or in part a protected group’.

Meanwhile, the military has simultaneously perpetrated atrocity crimes in many other parts of the country since it seized power on 1 February. The military is undoubtedly emboldened by the international community’s failure to hold it accountable for its atrocity crimes.

The lack of transparency and public scrutiny of Myanmar’s reporting on its compliance with the ICJ’s provisional measures order seriously undermines the effectiveness of the measures. There is a grave risk that if the status quo continues, the military will view this as carte blanche to continue committing genocidal acts against the Rohingya as well as atrocity crimes against the rest of the population with total impunity.

“We have had enough of international bodies like the ICJ and UN agencies making decisions about us without us even being able to see what is being discussed and agreed,” said Tun Khin. “The ICJ must amend the provisional measures to make a requirement for public reporting. The UN Security Council must hold an open session to discuss Myanmar’s noncompliance with the measures and take concrete steps to protect human security in our country.”

“We need to see more countries joining the ICJ case and bringing legal expertise and financial support. Ending impunity is a crucial step for justice and accountability for all people in our country,” continued Tun Khin.

For more information, please contact Tun Khin +44 7888714866.

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