“This decision is a significant step in the right
direction which opens up a clear avenue of justice for the Rohingya who were
driven out of their homes, often as soldiers opened fire on them and burned
down their villages.”
Following the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s ruling
on Thursday that it has jurisdiction over Myanmar’s deportation of the Rohingya
population to Bangladesh, a crime against humanity, Biraj Patnaik, Amnesty
International’s South Asia Director, said:
“During the Myanmar military’s horrifying campaign of
ethnic cleansing more than 725,000 Rohingya women, men and children were
deported to Bangladesh. This decision is a significant step in the right
direction which opens up a clear avenue of justice for the Rohingya who were
driven out of their homes, often as soldiers opened fire on them and burned down
their villages. The Court has sent a clear signal to the Myanmar military that
they will be held accountable.
“Forced deportation is just one of a raft of crimes
committed against the Rohingya. Amnesty International has documented
extensively how the military’s crackdown also included murder, rape, torture,
forced starvation, the targeted burning of Rohingya villages and the use of
landmines. .
“While we welcome the ICC’s decision, the international
community must see it as a spur to further action. In particular, the United
Nations Security Council should still refer the situation in Myanmar to the
ICC, so that the Court can investigate all crimes against humanity committed
against the Rohingya, as well as the military’s crimes against other ethnic minorities
in Kachin and northern Shan States.”
Background
On 9 April 2018, the Office of the Prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court (ICC) requested a ruling to clarify whether the
Court has jurisdiction to investigate the alleged deportation of more than
725,000 Rohingya women, men and children from Myanmar to Bangladesh since 25
August 2017.
As Myanmar is not a state party to the Rome Statute of
the ICC, serious violations taking place within its borders do not typically
fall under the Court’s territorial jurisdiction, barring acceptance of the
Court’s jurisdiction by the Myanmar authorities or a referral by the United
Nations Security Council.
However, Bangladesh is a State Party to the ICC, and the
Court found that it had jurisdiction over the crime against humanity of
deportation as an element of that crime was completed on the territory of
Bangladesh.
The Court also found that as the Rohingya had been
unlawfully compelled to remain outside their own country and to live in
appalling conditions in Bangladesh, the ICC may have jurisdiction over the
crime against humanity of persecution and / or 'other inhumane acts' which it
said constituted a severe deprivation of the Rohingya’s fundamental human
rights.
Source: Amnesty International
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The Author @mir_sidiquee: I have signed; you are
requested to sign the petition, to hold #tatmadaw officials accountable for
crimes against #Rohingya. Call @UN_HRC to set up an international
accountability mechanism to investigate #Myanmar’s atrocities.