LAW also trains survivors` advocates on gender equality and sexual and gender-based violence, including the different forms of SGBV and women`s legal rights against sexual and gender-based violence under international law. Survivors` advocates will also have a safe space to discuss local interventions to address sexual and gender-based violence in the camps. LAW`s innovative Rohingya crisis program aims to ensure meaningful Rohingya participation in ongoing international judicial processes related to their treatment in Myanmar, including: proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Gambia v. Myanmar); the ongoing investigation by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the work of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM). LAW works closely with the various legal teams working within these mechanisms. In addition, LAW conducts innovative strategic litigation on behalf of more than 500 Rohingya clients and ensures that Rohingya voices are a priority throughout its advocacy. This article will argue that there are three related areas of concern regarding the Rohingya crisis: (1) a unique focus on persecution and nationality in Myanmar; (2) statelessness and displacement in the region; and (3) serious violations of human rights that constitute international crimes, including genocide and crimes against humanity. This article outlines the active steps ASEAN should take. In order to ensure that Myanmar willingly accepts responsibility for addressing the root cause of the problem, the international community, particularly ASEAN, must stand firm in the face of gross violations of human rights in Myanmar. At the same time, ASEAN must address the refugee crisis by formulating a viable regional framework. This article discusses the underlying paradigm of conflict in all refugee issues: how to reconcile state sovereignty and responsibility, and how to ensure the protection of human rights and state security? A genocide case before the ICJ would be important for three reasons. First, the ICC will focus on individual criminal responsibility, while the ICJ may request legal responsibility at the state level. This could force Myanmar to respond directly to the charges against him, which he has so far denied at the ICC.
Second, the ICJ could issue interim measures ordering Bangladesh and Myanmar to postpone their agreement to repatriate the Rohingya. While Myanmar may not comply with these measures, Bangladesh, which has cooperated with the ICC, may be more inclined to do so. Such assistance would be crucial for Rohingya refugees who fear returning to Myanmar. Thirdly, allegations of genocide are by far the most serious allegations against Myanmar and simply cannot go unpunished, especially given the inaction of the international community. India: Eighteen thousand Rohingya refugees have registered with the UN refugee agency, although Indian officials estimate there are forty thousand Rohingya across the country. The Hindu nationalist government considers the Rohingya illegal immigrants and has worked to bring them back. Since late 2018, India has reportedly returned dozens of refugees to Myanmar, criticizing the United Nations and human rights groups. The opening of a preliminary investigation by the ICC is an important step towards justice for the Rohingya.
Given the ICC`s restorative process, there is considerable scope for the full participation of victims and their legal representatives in the proceedings. This, combined with parallel trials for genocide before the ICJ, could be an effective way to fully address crimes committed against the Rohingya. The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has also taken action and commissioned an independent investigation into the Rohingya crisis, which recently released a report outlining horrific crimes committed against the Rohingya by Myanmar`s military. After that, the HRC approved the creation of an agency to collect and obtain evidence that could be used in future prosecutions. Sexual violence was a feature of the 2017 “evictions,” and many refugees in Kutupalong camp are now living with the trauma of the violence. LAW works with the Rohingya community to mitigate the cultural stigma and feelings of shame that prevent victims from receiving the legal, medical and psychosocial support they need to cope with their trauma. In addition to providing services, it should be recognized that refugees have skills, want to work and help themselves. Although the Rohingya currently find limited work in Bangladesh`s informal economy, they are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse due to the lack of legal protection. This would be a big step forward in enabling them to work legally in areas where labour needs depend on registration. The involvement of the International Labour Office in supporting skills development and job creation, similar to the initiatives for Syrian refugees in Jordan, could also be explored. In addition to Bangladesh`s involvement, non-profit organizations and lawyers representing victims of the Rohingya crisis are also involved in the proceedings. Global Rights Compliance submitted written statements to the Pre-Trial Chamber as part of its consideration of the request of the Office of the Prosecutor, which represents the interests of 400 women affected by the crisis.
In addition, organisations such as Guernica 37 and a coalition of Bangladeshi non-governmental representatives also submitted amicus curiae briefs pursuant to Rule 103 of the Rules of Procedure. The decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on interim measures, adopted unanimously on 23 January 2020 by a plenary session of seventeen judges in The Gambia v. Myanmar, is of historical significance and an important development in international law. It recognises and highlights the need for protection measures for the Rohingya living in Myanmar and, more broadly, for the several hundred thousand Rohingya refugees seeking asylum in Bangladesh. While this preliminary ICJ decision has been publicly welcomed by several governments and countless lawyers and activists and, of course, by the Rohingya community, it will not solve the Rohingya refugee crisis. The humanitarian dimension of the current crisis can continue to be well managed with strong leadership, strategic planning, creative diplomacy and advocacy, and some degree of political luck. But happiness alone is not enough and will not lead to the solutions that the Rohingya deserve and that Bangladesh and the international community rightly demand. The options discussed above deserve urgent attention. Survivors` advocates are trained to conduct outreach sessions so they can provide legal information on ongoing international justice processes related to the Rohingya crisis and help LAW clients access relevant services.
The training includes clear and up-to-date information on the International Criminal Court investigation and the International Court of Justice case between The Gambia and Myanmar on the implementation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The government refuses to grant citizenship to the Rohingya and, as a result, most members of the group have no legal documents, rendering them stateless. Myanmar`s 1948 citizenship law was already exclusionary, and the military junta that took power in 1962 introduced another law twenty years later that denied the Rohingya access to full citizenship. Until recently, Rohingya could register as temporary residents with identity cards, called white cards, which the junta issued to many Muslims, Rohingya and non-Rohingya, in the 1990s. White cards conferred limited rights, but were not recognized as proof of citizenship. The origins of the Rohingya in the region date back to the fifteenth century, when thousands of Muslims arrived in the ancient kingdom of Arakan. Many more came during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when Rakhine was ruled by colonial rule as part of British India.