Gambia has lodged a grievance with the United Nations' top court, calling for an end to genocide in Myanmar. The Southeast Asian country is accused of using rape and murder to persecute its Rohingya Muslim minority.
Image: Reuters/R. Rahman
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Gambia filed a case on Monday accusing Myanmar of genocide against its Muslim-minority Rohingya people.
In a statement, lawyers for the Gambian government urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order measures to "stop Myanmar's genocidal conduct immediately."
The country filed the case on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The Myanmar military launched a counterinsurgency operation in 2017, after an insurgent attack. The campaign targeted Rohingya areas, and allegedly saw atrocities committed against civilians who were driven from their homes.
Militants in Rohingya camps?
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More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh, with claims that they were forced out through the use of mass rapes, killings and burning of their homes.
Gambia's statement alleges that "killing, causing serious bodily and mental harm, inflicting conditions that are calculated to bring about physical destruction, imposing measures to prevent births, and forcible transfers, are genocidal in character because they are intended to destroy the Rohingya group in whole or in part."
Gambia's Justice Minister Abubacarr Marie Tambadou said the action was being taken to "uphold and strengthen the global norm against genocide that is binding upon all states."
Inside Bangladesh's isolated 'Rohingya island'
Bangladesh has invested $272 million (€248 million) to make the Bhasan Char island liveable for the Rohingya. But the refugees, currently camped in Cox's Bazar district, are reluctant to move to the cyclone-prone island.
Image: DW/A. Islam
Far from the mainland
Bhasan Char, which means "floating island" in Bengali language, emerged less than 20 years ago in the Bay of Bengal. The island is located 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) away from mainland Bangladesh. The government of the Muslim-majority country plans to relocate some 100,000 Rohingya refugees to this island from overcrowded Cox's Bazar refugee camps.
Image: DW/A. Islam
No easy transportation
There is no proper transport for the common people to go to the island. Some people told DW that the roughness of the sea makes it difficult to reach the island on boats during the monsoon season.
Image: DW/A. Islam
Protected by embankment?
The government has erected a 13-kilometer-long and 3-meter-high embankment to protect the island from high tides and floods. Still, the outer part of the embankment goes 3 to 4 feet underwater twice a month during high tides, according to the island's shopkeepers.
Image: DW/A. Islam
Identical buildings
The government has built 1,440 single-storey buildings, with 16 rooms in each, to house the Rohingya refugees. At least four members of a family have to live in a small room. 120 four-storey shelter houses are also available, to be used during cyclones.
Image: DW/N. Conrad
Solar power for energy
All buildings at Bhasan Char are equipped with solar panels to fulfil their energy demands. A big solar field and two diesel generators for electricity have also been installed. The island has a rainwater harvesting system as well as tube wells to provide drinking water.
Image: DW/A. Islam
Protection from erosion
The silt island is called a "floating island" due to its unstable nature. Satellite images detected the island in 2002. Bangladeshi authorities have built a structure with pylons, gravel and sandbags to stop the erosion of the island.
Image: DW/A. Islam
Is the island uninhabitable?
While some experts say the island is still very fragile and uninhabitable, climate change specialist Ainun Nishat is of the opinion that people can live here if the embankment is heightened to 6.5 to 7 meters. However, he doesn't think that farming is possible on the island.
Image: DW/A. Islam
Rohingya fear cyclone, drowning
The refugees fear they could die as a result of a cyclone if they are forcibly moved to the island. Many of their children could drown in the sea, they say.
Image: DW/A. Islam
Will Rohingya move there?
While the island is almost ready to host Rohingya refugees, the government has yet to make a decision on transferring them to it. Several sources say the relocation could take place in November. The Bangladeshi government has hinted it might have to force the refugees to go there if no one chooses to leave the Cox's Bazar's refugee settlements.
Image: DW/A. Islam
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Risk of return to genocide
The head of a UN fact-finding mission on Myanmar last month warned of a "serious risk of genocide recurring."
In response, Myanmar's UN ambassador, Hau Do Suan, claimed that the UN mission had been one-sided and "based on misleading information and secondary sources." He said the Myanmar government — a signatory of the 1948 Genocide Convention — took accountability seriously. The convention compels signatory states to prevent and punish genocide.
Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in July asked its own judge for permission to open a formal investigation into the alleged crimes against humanity in Myanmar.
The ICJ rules on disputes between nations, while the ICC rules on crimes allegedly committed by individuals.
