The International Court of Justice has rejected Venezuela's objections, saying its judges can rule on a 19th-century border dispute. The country is at odds with neighboring Guyana over a fossil fuel-rich region. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday allowed a long-running border dispute between Venezuela and Guyana for jurisdiction. The two countries have remained entangled in a dispute over an oil and gas-rich region known as Essequibo. The Hague-based court can now adjudicate on the 19th-century border dispute, which has seen many escalations since oil was discovered in the region. The court's ruling In 2018, Guyana had pleaded with the ICJ to confirm that the border was drawn in an 1899 arbitration between Venezuela and the then-colony of British Guiana. However, in an attempt to stall the case, Venezuela had argued that Britain should be involved since it was the colonial power at the time of arbitration. Rejecting Venezuela's argument, the court said it has jurisdiction over the matter. "The court... rejects the preliminary objection raised by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela" by 14 judges to one, ICJ chief judge Joan Donoghue said. Welcoming the court's decision, Guyanese President Irfaan Ali said: "Guyana remains confident that the court will confirm its longstanding international boundary with Venezuela." The decision marks the second time the court has rejected Venezuela's arguments, Ali said, adding that "Guyana remains confident that the court will confirm its longstanding international boundary with Venezuela." Despite the recent ruling, it could take years for a final verdict in the case. What is the reason behind the dispute In 2015, US oil giant ExxonMobil discovered crude oil off Guyana's coast, which until then had no history of oil production. However, with the discovery of oil in the Essequibo region, it now has the potential to become one of the top oil producers in Latin America. A consortium of oil companies produces oil in Guyana's offshore Stabroek block, part of which is located in waters claimed by Venezuela. Guyana has upheld the validity of borders and maintains they were laid in 1899 by an arbitration court decision in Paris involving Venezuela, Britain and then-British Guiana but Caracas has rejected the claim.

The Netherlands has reiterated its commitment to help ensure justice and accountability for the atrocities committed against Rohingyas by the Myanmar authorities. Foreign Minister of the Netherlands Stef Blok in a letter to his Bangladesh counterpart Dr AK Abdul Momen conveyed it saying they will help to ensure justice through the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Dutch Ambassador to Bangladesh Harry Verweij on Sunday met Foreign Minister Dr Momen st State guesthouse Padma and handed over the letter, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday. On September 2, the Netherlands and Canada said States parties to the Genocide Convention must resolve to prevent genocide but also, critically, to hold perpetrators in Myanmar to account. "Canada and the Kingdom of the Netherlands reiterate their call to all states parties to the Genocide Convention to support The Gambia in its efforts to address these violations," the two countries said in a joint statement. François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, and Stef Blok, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, issued the statement regarding intention to intervene in The Gambia v. Myanmar case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). During his meeting with Dr Momen, the Dutch Ambassador mentioned it. The envoy assured continued humanitarian support from the Netherlands for Rohingyas who took shelter in Bangladesh. The Ambassador laid emphasis on justice and accountability issues for a sustainable solution to Rohingya crisis. Dr Momen said Bangladesh is giving much importance to safe and dignified repatriation of Rohingyas. He sought an effective role from the Netherlands though coordination with the European Union so that Myanmar creates a safe environment in Rakhine State for Rohingya repatriation.  On Sunday, Bangladesh cautioned that if the Rohingya issue is not resolved immediately, radical elements can take advantage of the displacement and "regional and international security would certainly be jeopardised." Bangladesh requested the Philippines to exert political pressure on Myanmar together with all ASEAN members to take back the Rohingyas. Foreign Minister Dr Momen made the request through Ambassador of the Philippines Vicente Vivencio T. Bandillo on Sunday. At the meeting, the Forign Minister sought Philippines’ support on voluntary and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingyas to their place of origin in Rakhine State, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dr Momen noted that Philippines enjoys close ties with Myanmar that the latter should leverage its influence to resolve the Rohingya crisis. He said that to allay the fear of the Rohingyas Bangladesh has long been proposing formation of an ASEAN led non-military civilian observer group but Myanmar has not been coming forward positively to implement this proposal. Source: UNB AH

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will deliver its order on the request for the indication of provisional measures made by The Gambia in the case concerning the Genocide Convention against Myanmar. A public sitting will take place at 10am at the Peace Palace in The Hague, during which Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, President of the Court, will read the Court’s order, according to the ICJ. In its first Genocide Convention case, the ICJ imposed provisional measures against Serbia in 1993 and eventually found that Serbia had violated its duty to prevent and punish genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). Canada, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Turkey, and France have asserted that Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) encouraged its 57 members to bring Myanmar before the court. Malaysia’s Prime Minister has also alleged that Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya and called for efforts to bring Myanmar before the court, according to the HRW. On November 11, The Gambia instituted proceedings against Myanmar before the ICJ alleging violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide through “acts adopted, taken and condoned by the Government of Myanmar against members of the Rohingya group”. Specifically, The Gambia argued that from around October 2016 the Myanmar military and other Myanmar security forces began widespread and systematic ‘clearance operations’ - the term that Myanmar itself uses against the Rohingya group. The genocidal acts committed during these operations were intended to destroy the Rohingya as a group, in whole or in part, by the use of mass murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, as well as the systematic destruction by fire of their villages, often with inhabitants locked inside burning houses, according to an official document. From August 2017 onwards, such genocidal acts continued with Myanmar’s resumption of ‘clearance operations’ on a more massive and wider geographical scale.” The Gambia contends that these acts constitute violations of the Genocide Convention and it has made this claim known to Myanmar since September 2018, but that Myanmar has continued to deny any wrongdoing. The Gambian application also contains a request for the indication of provisional measures, seeking to protect the rights of the Rohingya group. The Gambia asked the Court to indicate some provisional measures including Myanmar should immediately take all measures within its power to prevent all acts that amount to or contribute to the crime of genocide, including taking all measures within its power to prevent the following acts from being committed against member of the Rohingya group. Myanmar should not destroy or render inaccessible any evidence related to the events described in the application, including without limitation by destroying or rendering inaccessible the remains of any member of the Rohingya group who is a victim of alleged genocidal acts, or altering the physical locations where such acts are alleged to have occurred in such a manner as to render the evidence of such acts, if any, inaccessible, the document reads. Yanghee Lee’s Final Mission The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee concludes her final mission on Thursday that she has been carrying out from January 15. Lee, who visited Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar district this time too, will hold a press conference at 1pm in a city hotel. Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas. Lee will report to the Human Rights Council session in March this year, said an official. Despite her last request to visit Myanmar being denied by the government, Lee visited Thailand and Bangladesh to speak to interlocutors and receive information about the situation in Myanmar from both sides of the border. “Myanmar’s denial of access has not dissuaded me from doing everything I can to impartially report to the international community accurate first-hand information that has been provided to me during my visits to the region,” Lee said. She said her mission and the end of her tenure come at a critical time for human rights in Myanmar. "I’ll continue to strive to do my utmost to improve the situation.” Lee has held the mandate of Special Rapporteur since 2014 and enjoyed biannual visits to the country until she was denied entry from December 2017, according to a message received from Geneva. On the other hand, the Centre for Genocide Studies (CGS), Dhaka University (DU) will hold a panel discussion on "ICJ Ruling on the Provisional Measures on Rohingya Genocide” on Thursday evening in the city. Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen will attend the discussion as the chief guest. Director, Centre for Genocide Studies and Prof of International Relations, DU Dr Imtiaz Ahmed will also be present. Source: UNB AH

The UN’s top court will deliver its decision next week on whether emergency measures should be imposed on Myanmar over alleged genocide against its Rohingya Muslims, the Gambian government tweeted Wednesday. In a shock move, Myanmar’s civilian leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi travelled to The Hague last month to defend the bloody 2017 crackdown by her nation’s army against the Rohingya. Some 740,000 fled over the border into Bangladesh, carrying accounts of widespread rape, arson and mass killings, in violence UN investigators said amounted to genocide. The Gambian Ministry of Justice announced on Twitter early Wednesday the ICJ would deliver its decision on emergency measures on Thursday 23 January. The West African nation had brought a case against Buddhist-majority Myanmar to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) with the backing of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, Canada and the Netherlands. At the December hearing, the Gambia alleged Myanmar had breached the 1948 UN Genocide Convention. It also said there was a “serious and imminent risk of genocide recurring” and called for emergency measures to prevent Myanmar from committing any further atrocities or erasing any evidence. It is not clear how specific the emergency measures would be, but enforcing them would likely prove difficult. If the court rules in the Gambia’s favor, this would be just the first step in a case likely to take years. An estimated 600,000 Rohingya still live in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state in what Amnesty International has branded “apartheid” conditions. Suu Kyi admitted the army may have used excessive force against the Rohingya, but said the case was based on “misleading and incomplete” claims, calling for it to be dropped. The 74-year-old, once regarded as a rights icon in the West, also said the case risked reigniting the crisis. ICJ judges have only once before ruled that genocide was committed, in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia. Suu Kyi’s defense of the generals was widely condemned in the West but proved popular at home with a public largely unsympathetic to the plight of the Rohingya. Myanmar insists its own investigations will ensure accountability for any human rights violations but critics deride the domestic panels as toothless and partial. Myanmar also faces other legal challenges over the Rohingya, including a probe by the International Criminal Court — a separate war crimes tribunal — and a lawsuit in Argentina which notably alleges Suu Kyi’s complicity. Source: AFP/BSS AH