The International Court of Justice (ICJ) was told on Monday that members of Myanmar’s military repeatedly used dehumanising language against Rohingya Muslims, allegedly referring to them as “Muslim dogs” in the period leading up to violent attacks on the community.
During the hearings at the UN’s highest judicial body, The Gambia argued that Myanmar had committed genocide against the Rohingya, alleging that the country’s military systematically employed violence and hate speech to incite attacks and promote the elimination of the ethnic minority.
Presenting The Gambia’s case, lawyer Jessica Jones said senior Myanmar military officials had, over several years, engaged in sustained vilification of the Rohingya population. She pointed to evidence suggesting that such rhetoric played a direct role in encouraging violence.
Jones referred to a video circulated on Facebook in 2017 in which soldiers were allegedly seen urging others to carry out attacks against Rohingya civilians. She told the court that the language used in the footage amounted to open calls for genocidal violence and represented a clear breach of Myanmar’s obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention, Maktoob Media reported.
According to Jones, the video showed a military figure encouraging others to destroy Rohingya villages and urging them to use any weapons available, while portraying the Rohingya as subhuman. She argued that such statements demonstrated intent to incite mass violence against the community.
The Gambia, backed by the 57 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has accused Myanmar’s military of committing genocidal acts against the Rohingya between 2016 and 2018 in northern Rakhine State.
The case alleges that the violence included mass executions, the killing of more than 10,000 civilians, the systematic burning of over 100 villages, and widespread sexual violence, with women and children among those most severely affected.
Former UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein had earlier characterised the 2017 violence as a clear example of ethnic cleansing, following the mass displacement of more than 700,000 Rohingya who fled to neighbouring countries.
In 2020, the ICJ directed Myanmar to implement provisional measures aimed at preventing acts of genocide. Myanmar has rejected the allegations, maintaining that its military actions were part of legitimate counter-insurgency operations.
The hearings at the ICJ are scheduled to continue until January 29.