The 14th Islamic Summit Conference of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was held in Makkah in Saudi Arabia on Friday 31st May, 2019. A Ministerial-level meeting on the Rohingya crisis has also taken place on the sidelines.
On OIC’s 46th Council of Foreign Ministers’ Session in March, a resolution been agreed to pursue state-level action against Myanmar via the ICJ for breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention. The Gambia, as the chair of the OIC’s Ad Hoc Ministerial Committee on Accountability for Human Rights Violations Against the Rohingya, has suggested they would be willing to file such a case. Outside of the OIC, Canada also actively working towards Rohingya in that issue.
Welcoming the OIC summit, the ARNO chairman, the President of Burmese Rohingya National Organization, Uk and others stated on a press release, “We welcome The Gambia’s intention to pursue Myanmar through the International Court of Justice for the genocide they conducted against the Rohingya. Such a case will hopefully go a long way to helping stop the atrocities that continue to be committed against our people.”
“The Gambia and the OIC must work with other countries, as well as the Rohingya themselves, to ensure the strongest possible case is able to be established. We shudder to think how this brutal regime would capitalise on any failed attempt to deliver international accountability.”
“At the same time, we must recognise that the ICJ cannot actually put any military general or soldier with blood on their hands in the dock. The OIC must, therefore, use its summit in Makkah to also declare its support for a referral to the International Criminal Court and for additional options – such as an international tribunal – to be explored. Indonesia, as a member of both the UN Security Council and ASEAN, has a particularly important role to play in this – and our people are counting on President Widodo to step up following his reelection. It is time for OIC countries to also take additional steps, such as adopting targeted sanctions against the Tatmadaw leadership including Min Aung Hlaing and military-owned companies.” further stated.
