Burma: Genocide

(asked on 16th October 2019) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has undertaken an assessment of the adequacy of the evidence available for the purpose of taking a case to the International Court of Justice on the ground that the situation in Burma represents a violation of the UN genocide convention.


Answered by
Heather Wheeler Portrait
Heather Wheeler
This question was answered on 23rd October 2019

In March 2018, in order to establish the facts around the actions of the Myanmar military, we co-sponsored a resolution that led to the establishment of an independent, international Fact Finding Mission (FFM). During its mandate, the FFM documented atrocities in Myanmar. The FFM was clear that what transpired in Myanmar amounted to ethnic cleansing and could be genocide.

We agree that any judgment on whether genocide has occurred is a matter for competent courts, after consideration of all the evidence, through a credible judicial process. We are aware that The Gambia is planning on bringing a case at the ICJ on behalf of the OIC. The British Government has not undertaken its own assessment of the evidence available to the ICJ.

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