Military’s brutal treatment of Rohingya: Akram Sheikh hails ICJ judgement against Myanmar

ISLAMABAD: Mohammad Akram Sheikh, Senior Advocate of Supreme Court has opined that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgement on Thursday in case titled, 'The Gambia vs Myanmar' will set in motion a process of accountability in Asia Pacific region including India, for its violation of international human rights laws, in particular, those violations relating to genocide.

Sheikh who is in Hague to witness ICJ proceedings commented on ICJ judgement with provisional measures in the case titled, 'The Gambia vs Myanmar' filed by The Republic of the Gambia against Myanmar inter alia under Article VI of "The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide" (Genocide Convention) 1951; including the circumstances of its adoption and its interpretation and application in the years following its entry into force on 12 January 1951; for the crimes committed by Myanmar against the Rohingya group, investigated by the UN bodies.

He commented that the judgement will have bearing on India notwithstanding the fact that India may not be a signatory to the Genocide Convention.

He added that it is indeed a great day in the history of the international community's accountability for the victims of international humanitarian and human rights violations worldwide and sets a new trend of global state accountability in motion.

Sheikh pays tribute to the unanimous judgment including two ad-hoc judges; one from The Gambia and one from Myanmar; for showing magnanimity with their fellow judges of the world's top court. This judgment will usher into an era of greater respect for basic human rights and fundamental rights.

The ICJ has ruled that Myanmar must “take all measures within its power” to prevent its military or others from carrying out genocidal acts against the Rohingya, who it said faced “real and imminent risk.” The decision is the first international court ruling against Myanmar over its military’s brutal treatment of the Rohingya.

Sheikh advises the government of Pakistan to have the matter of the violations of Indian forces including the lockdown of 8 million Kashmiri people in the valley, referred to the ICJ by a resolution of the UNGA to examine this case in its advisory jurisdiction as to whether Article 2 of the “Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV)), known also as the Declaration on Decolonisation, stands achieved.