UK MPs want intervention in Rohingya genocide case

UK MPs have called on the UK government to support the genocide case filed by The Gambia at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Myanmar.

In a letter to Foreign Minister Dominic Rabb on December 17, UK MPs Rushnara Ali and Jeremy Hunt said: "The UK is responsible for overseeing Myanmar's affairs in the UN Security Council and if it does not join the case, it will inadvertently send a wrong message to the Myanmar military," reports Bangla Tribune.

In the letter, they added that the impact of the case was already starting to be felt, as the court agreed with Gambia that the Rohingya were victims of genocide. There is preliminary evidence of that and the court felt that it was necessary for Myanmar to take steps to protect the Rohingya in Rakhine.

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Seventeen judges agreed with the decision, with lawmakers saying the security council's recommendation could not be sent to the International Criminal Court (ICC) because of opposition from China and Russia. For that reason, joining The Gambia is now the best way to ensure accountability and justice, stated the letter.

In August 2017, the Myanmar army intensified pre-planned and structured violence against the Rohingya in the Rakhine State of Myanmar. More than 700,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh to flee the violence. The Gambia filed a lawsuit in the ICJ on November 2019, calling the atrocity a "genocide."