OIC welcomes first hearing of crimes against Rohingya case

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has welcomed the first hearing of a recently filed case on accountability for crimes against Rohingyas set for 10-12 December, according to UNB.

The OIC called 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.

The general secretariat of OIC welcomed the decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), The Hague, to conduct its first hearing, from 10-12 December 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 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 Rohingyas 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, said the OIC in a statement.

The Ad Hoc Ministerial Committee was established at the 45th OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 5-6 May. 2018.

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 in Makkah Al Mukarramah.