ICJ, finally, acts on the Rohingyas of Myanmar | Opinion

Description: 

"The inability of international law to effectively address situations of mass human rights atrocities, in particular genocide, within States has been the source of much consternation for international lawyers. The term genocide, deriving from the Greek prefix genos meaning race or tribe and the Latin suffix cide meaning killing, was coined by Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1944, in the aftermath of the Holocaust. It was soon codified as an independent crime under the 1948 United Nations Convention, acceded to by around 152 states. However, in over 70 years of operation of the Convention, the record of establishing State responsibility for the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide has been unsatisfactory, illustrated by well-documented failures in Cambodia, Rwanda and Yugoslavia. However, in a significant ruling on the Rohingya issue, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) took tentative steps towards remedying In its preliminary judgment, the ICJ unanimously granted provisional measures, at the request of Gambia, directing Myanmar to take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts, including by any persons subject to its direction, control or influence, which constitute genocide under the convention in relation to the Rohingya people in its territory; and take all measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to the allegation of genocide. More strikingly, the ICJ sought to oversee the implementation of its provisional measures, directing Myanmar to submit a report to the court on all measures taken to give effect to the order, within four months from the date of the order, and thereafter every six months until the final decision.its otherwise unenviable record of adjudicating allegations of genocide..."

Creator/author: 

Jay Manoj Sanklecha

Source/publisher: 

"Hindustan Times " (India)

Date of Publication: 

2020-01-27

Date of entry: 

2020-01-30

Grouping: 

  • Individual Documents

Category: 

Countries: 

Myanmar, Gambia

Language: 

English

Resource Type: 

text

Text quality: 

    • Good