World Court to rule on genocide case vs. Myanmar gov't on November 19

THE HAGUE - The International Court of Justice will rule on 19 November in its landmark case against the government of Myanmar, which is accused of committing genocide against the minority Muslim Rohingya, the court said on Tuesday.

ICJ judges will start reading out their judgment on 19 November at 8:00 GMT.

The case at the ICJ, also known as the World Court, was brought by Gambia in 2019.

Gambia argued that a 2017 offensive by Myanmar government forces that forced at least 730,000 Rohingya into neighbouring Bangladesh constituted a genocide.

Rohingya refugees recounted instances of killings, mass rape and arson and a UN fact-finding commission has concluded the offensive included "genocidal acts."

Myanmar denies accusations of genocide and has said the offensive was a legitimate counter-terrorism campaign.

This will be the first time in over a decade, and only the third time ever, that the ICJ hands down a judgment in a genocide case.

The outcome is likely to shape future genocide cases at the ICJ, including South Africa's 2023 case accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, a charge Israel denies.

The ICJ is the UN's highest court and deals with disputes between states and alleged breaches of international treaties including the 1948 Genocide Convention.

Genocide has rarely been proven in international courts because judges have to find crimes were committed with the specific intent "to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group".

ICJ rulings are final and without appeal.

-Stephanie van den Berg, Editing by Bart Meijer, Charlotte Van Campenhout/Reuters