THE HAGUE (HRNW) – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is set to begin the “merits phase” of the landmark genocide case against Myanmar on January 12, 2026. This follows years of procedural hurdles after The Gambia filed the suit in 2019, alleging that Myanmar’s military committed genocidal acts against the Rohingya minority in 2017. Human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and the Women’s Peace Network, have hailed this as a “renewed hope” for the hundreds of thousands of refugees currently living in camps in Bangladesh. The court will determine the state’s legal responsibility for the massacres, rape, and arson that displaced over 700,000 people.
