Particle.news
Download on the App Store
19 ARTICLES
·
2w ago

ICJ Opens Landmark Hearings in Gambia’s Genocide Case Against Myanmar

The proceedings will test key definitions under the Genocide Convention with closed-door survivor testimony before an international court for the first time.

Image
Myanmar's Union Minister for the Ministry of the President's Office Ko Ko Hlaing sits in the courtroom, as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) starts two weeks of hearings in a landmark case brought by Gambia, which accuses Myanmar of committing genocide against the Rohingya, a minority Muslim group, in The Hague, Netherlands, January 12, 2026. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
UN top court set to open Myanmar Rohingya genocide case
FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2017, file photo, smoke rises from a burned house in Gawdu Zara village, northern Rakhine state, where the vast majority of the country's 1.1 million Rohingya lived, Myanmar. (AP Photo, File)

Overview

  • On the first day, Gambia’s justice minister told judges the Rohingya were “targeted for destruction” as opening arguments began in The Hague.
  • Gambia presents its case through January 15, Myanmar responds January 16–20, and the court will then hear Rohingya witnesses in closed sessions.
  • The case centers on 2016–2017 clearance operations that allegedly involved mass killings, widespread sexual violence and arson, driving roughly 730,000 people into Bangladesh.
  • Myanmar denies genocide and characterizes its actions as counterterrorism, while a UN fact-finding mission reported genocidal acts and evidence of intent.
  • A ruling could influence other ICJ matters and ICC accountability efforts, though any enforcement would depend on international political will and Security Council action.