Rohingya genocide: Canada backs court probe
TRENTON: Canada today lauded Gambia’s bid to bring Myanmar to court to answer genocide charges against the Rohingya minority.
Anadolu Agency reported Canada foreign affairs minister, Chrystia Freeland said, the country welcome Gambia’s submission to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the Myanmar government for alleged violation of Genocide Convention.
Gambia today filed the 46-page application on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Freeland said the move will help advance accountability for the genocide, which includes acts of mass murder, systemic discrimination, hate speech and sexual and gender-based violence against the Rohingya, including violence that took place in August 2017, forcing over 740,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh.
“Canada will work with other like-minded countries to end impunity for those accused of committing the gravest crimes under international law. Together with our partners, we will explore options to support Gambia in these efforts.
”Canada is committed to addressing the root causes of the crisis and ensuring that the Rohingya are fully and meaningfully engaged in the development of these solutions.
“Ensuring that the perpetrators of these atrocities are held to account is imperative to provide justice to the victims and survivors,” she added.
According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017, pushing the number of persecuted people in Bangladesh above 1.2 million.
Since Aug 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).
Bernama
