ICJ orders Myanmar: Take all steps to stop Rohingya genocide

THE HAGUE: The UN’s highest court on Thursday ordered Myanmar to do everything in its power to prevent the genocide of Rohingya Muslims, as international justice stepped into the crisis for the first time.

In a unanimous ruling, the International Court of Justice rejected arguments made by Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in The Hague in December and set out urgent steps for the predominantly Buddhist nation to end violence.

The mainly Muslim African state of The Gambia had asked the court to impose the emergency measures -- pending a full case that could take years -- following a bloody military crackdown by Myanmar in 2017 that sent around 740,000 Rohingya fleeing into neighbouring Bangladesh.

Presiding judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf said "the court was of the opinion that the Rohingya in Myanmar remain extremely vulnerable". Thousands are suspected to have been killed in the crackdown and refugees brought widespread reports of rape and arson by Myanmar’s military and local Buddhist militias.