Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 24/11/2019
The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) welcomes the decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), The Hague, to conduct its first hearing, from 10-12 December 2019, in the case against the Republic of the Union of Myanmar for its brutal actions against the Rohingya Muslim minority.
The case was filed by the Republic of The Gambia, as Chair of the OIC Ad Hoc Ministerial Committee on Accountability for Human Rights Violations Against the Rohingya, for violations by Myanmar of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
As part of the lawsuit, the ICJ is requested to impose Provisional Measures, as a matter of extreme urgency, to protect the Rohingya against further harm by ordering Myanmar to stop all of its genocidal conduct immediately.
Genocide is a crime under international law, as well as international criminal law and all States have an obligation to prevent, to punish, and to not commit genocide.
The Ad Hoc Ministerial Committee was established at the 45th OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 5-6 May 2018. The Gambia, as Chair of this Committee was tasked with submitting the case to the ICJ, following a decision by the OIC Heads of State, during the 14th Islamic Summit Conference, 31 May 2019 in Makkah AlMukarramah.
The OIC calls on the international community to support this legal effort for justice and accountability for the Rohingya people and to engage in all diplomatic and political efforts to stop Myanmar from perpetrating violence against this persecuted minority.
