How the military coup in Myanmar impacts international justice

12 March 2021 By

for JusticeInfo.net

A year ago Aung San Suu Kyi was in The Hague defending Myanmar against accusations of genocide before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Now she is under house arrest following a military coup last month. What does the coup means for Myanmar and international justice? Our Asymmetrical Haircuts partners have three guests to try and anticipate what consequences the coup may have at the ICJ as well as at the International Criminal Court and for the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, a Geneva-based UN fact-finding and evidence gathering body. How does the coup undermine the narrative offered by Aung San Suu Kyi before the ICJ? Now that the iconic leader is unlikely to continue representing Myanmar’s government, who will? Will Myanmar even continue to participate in the case? Can the Burmese understanding and feelings towards the Rohingya issue change because of what they are going through now?

1 min 20Approximate reading time

To listen to the podcast, click on the "play" button below:

Myanmar has been dominating news headlines around the world. More than 60 protesters have reportedly been killed and around 2,000 people detained, since the February 1 military coup against Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government.

Over a year ago – because Gambia had taken Myanmar to the International Court of Justice over allegations of genocide – Aung San Suu Kyi was defending the military. Now she’s under house arrest.

What are the implications of the coup for Myanmar, for the Rohingya Muslim minority who fled over into Bangladesh after attacks by the military? And what are the prospects now for accountability? Apart from the ICJ there’s also a case at the International Criminal Court. And a UN body the IIMM which is gathering evidence of human rights violations.

Hear from Rohingya activists Yasmin Ullah, former Dutch ambassador Laetitia van Assum, and Mike Becker from Trinity College Dublin.

ASYMMETRICAL HAIRCUTS

This podcast has been published as part of a partnership between JusticeInfo.net and Asymmetrical Haircuts, a podcast on international justice produced from The Hague by journalists Janet Anderson and Stephanie van den Berg, who retain full control and independence over the contents of the podcast.