Speakers at an event in The Hague urged the international community and States Parties of Rome Statute to stand “resolutely” with Bangladesh in securing sustainable return of the Rohingya people to their homeland, Myanmar.
The Bangladesh Embassy in the Netherlands, the government of Gambia, and an Italian non-profit organisation No Peace without Justice jointly organised the event titled ‘Justice for the Rohingyas’ on the sidelines of the 21st (annual) Assembly of the States Parties of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday.
Bangladesh is giving shelter to over 1.1 million Rohingyas who fled ‘ethnic cleansing’ in the Rakhine State. The Gambia filed a case with the UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2019, two years after Myanmar military began the brutal crackdown against the Rohingyas in Rakhine state forcing some 750,000 Rohingyas to flee to Bangladesh in 2017.
Bangladesh Ambassador to the Netherlands M RiazHamidullah, Deputy Prosecutor of ICC NazhatShameem Khan, President of Burma RohingyaOrganisation UK TunKhin, former member of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State Ambassador Laetitia Van Den Assum, and Gambian Solicitor General Hussein Thomasi spoke at the event, said a press release.
Ambassador Hamidullah said that in securing a lasting solution within the new federal structure of Myanmar, issues relating to the Rohingya people as also other ethnic minorities in Myanmar merit attention in inclusive and transparent ways.
He said regional groupings, civil society actors, think-tank, academia within ASEAN region need to look at the situation in Myanmar to ensure the region's “collective stability and prosperity”.
“Aside humanitarian assistance, political solutions should be equally in focus,” he added.
Rohingya leader Thun Khin appreciated Bangladesh for hosting Rohingya and in their fight for justice for the Rohingya.
He shared the significance of the universal jurisdiction investigation in an Argentine Court, a key step in securing justice for the Rohingyas; and urged more countries to consider such cases.
Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Khan shared the progress on investigation on the ICC Case inquiring war crimes against Rohingyas.
The Gambian Solicitor General said that The Gambia itself had been a victim of two decades' of authoritarian rule and thus valued the Rohingya issue in initiating the procedure at the ICJ as a member of the Genocide Convention.