CGP report: Myanmar response likely insufficient to meet ICJ requirements

The Center for Global Policy (CGP) recently published an analysis of the expected Myanmar response on May 23 to an International Court of Justice (ICJ) order.

The order pertains to provisional measures regarding treatment of the Rohingya.

The report titled “No Place for Optimism: Anticipating Myanmar’s First Report to the International Court of Justice” states that Myanmar will respond within the designated timeframe, and those responses will attempt to build a narrative of “war crimes” that differs from the accusation of “genocide.” 

It also presents information on what Myanmar has done since the ruling, data related to ongoing atrocities, and a discussion on why Myanmar’s response is likely to be insufficient in meeting the requirements of the ICJ.

The report is authored by the Center for Global Policy’s Rohingya Legal Forum (RLF).

It is accompanied by a foreword by US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes (1997-2001), Professor David Scheffer – who was a key architect of the Yugoslav tribunals during the Clinton administration.

In the report, Ambassador David Scheffer states: “[Myanmar’s] anticipated report will provide an important milestone in helping the ICJ determine whether genocidal acts have been prevented and evidence of alleged acts of genocide preserved.

“Or whether the government’s report reveals an intention by political and military officials to continue business as usual while claiming it falls outside the ambit of genocide.”

The Gambia brought the case against Myanmar to the ICJ in 2019, arguing Myanmar has not fulfilled its obligations as a member country of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crimes of Genocide. 

The convention places an obligation on member states to prevent and punish genocide. 

While Myanmar has argued that the actions of its military against the Rohingya do not constitute genocide, initial court findings indicate a need for more information to conclusively make this ruling.

Meanwhile, the Rohingya continue to be displaced, living in substandard conditions in a region with the highest population density in the world.