Myanmar Rohingya genocide ruling due November 19

The International Court of Justice is due on November 19 to rule on whether Myanmar's crackdown against its mostly Muslim Rohingya minority constituted genocide.

Judges at the UN court in The Hague have been weighing The Gambia's accusation that Myanmar breached the 1948 UN Genocide Convention. Myanmar denies committing genocide and says its actions targeted an insurgent uprising after attacks that killed security personnel.

The crackdown by Myanmar's army and Buddhist militias forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya into Bangladesh. More than one million Rohingya still live there in the world's largest refugee settlement.

During hearings in January, Gambian Justice Minister Dawda Jallow told the court that the Rohingya had been targeted for destruction. Myanmar minister Ko Ko Hlaing called the allegations unsubstantiated.

The ICJ has no means of enforcing its decisions, but a finding of genocide would add pressure on Myanmar's military junta. The court previously ordered Myanmar in 2020 to prevent acts covered by the Genocide Convention and later rejected Myanmar's challenge to its jurisdiction.