ICJ hears genocide testimony against Myanmar as junta dismisses claims
The testimony detailed soldiers conducting door-to-door killings of elderly men, gang rapes of women and girls, and infants thrown into rivers, followed by village burnings
THE HAGUE (MNTV) – The International Court of Justice heard harrowing accounts of mass atrocities against Rohingya civilians on Tuesday, as Myanmar’s military government dismissed the genocide case as “flawed and unfounded.”
During the second day of three-week hearings, lawyer Tafadzwa Pasipanodya presented evidence to the court describing systematic attacks on villages in northern Rakhine State during Myanmar’s 2017 military operations.
The testimony detailed soldiers conducting door-to-door killings of elderly men, gang rapes of women and girls, and infants thrown into rivers, followed by village burnings.
“The totality of this evidence convincingly shows that Myanmar, through its state organs, acted with the intent to destroy the Rohingya,” Pasipanodya told the judges.
The Gambia, which brought the case under the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, alleges these actions constituted genocide against the predominantly Muslim minority group.
The violence drove hundreds of thousands of Rohingya across the border into Bangladesh, where approximately 1.17 million now live in overcrowded camps spanning roughly 8,000 acres in Cox’s Bazar.
Myanmar’s foreign ministry, controlled by the military junta that seized power in 2021, rejected the accusations in a statement published Wednesday.
The government claimed the case relied on “biased reports, based on unreliable evidence” and asserted it was cooperating with the court in “good faith.”
Notably, the statement avoided using the term “Rohingya,” instead referring to “persons from Rakhine state”—consistent with the junta’s long-standing refusal to recognize the group’s identity.
Myanmar has consistently maintained its military operations were a legitimate response to insurgent attacks that killed a dozen security personnel.
However, the accounts from survivors and international observers paint a picture of violence far exceeding any counterinsurgency justification.
Myanmar’s legal team is scheduled to present its response beginning Friday.
While the ICJ lacks enforcement mechanisms, a ruling favoring The Gambia would intensify international political pressure on Myanmar’s already isolated military government.
Legal observers are monitoring the proceedings closely, both for their implications regarding the Rohingya and as potential precedent for other genocide cases before international courts, including those related to Gaza.
A final judgment could take months or years to reach.
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