Exclusive: Australia accused of giving legitimacy and credibility to a military accused of mass atrocities The commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s defence forces – recommended by the UN for investigation and prosecution for war crimes and genocide – has met with Australia’s ambassador and says he wants to train more of his officers in Australia. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is the supreme commander of Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, which has been accused of genocide in its systematic persecution
2020-02-20 16:02 | Myanmar | Guardian
In Bangladesh, ‘Smart Cards’ have become essential for refugees’ survival. A Rohingya woman from Myanmar holds a SweTinSit photo. Seven of the people pictured were killed in military “clearance operations’’ in northern Rakhine state in August 2017. Photo courtesy of Shafiur Rahman.
Taslima was dreading the day. It was SweTinSit , an annual population census conducted by Myanmar government officials in northern Rakhine state. Military, police and customs officials would be sweeping
2020-02-18 13:02 | Advocacy, Bangladesh, East Asia | GlobalVoices
Kirin has stakes in two breweries and donated directly to the military, which the UN says is ‘indefensible’ Japanese beverages giant Kirin – parent brewer of a suite of Australian beer brands such as XXXX, Tooheys, and James Squire – could pull out of the brewery it co-owns with the Myanmar military, after facing international condemnation for its business partnership with an army accused of genocide. The company’s president and chief executive, Yoshinori Isozaki, said in a statement
2020-02-15 19:02 | Myanmar | Guardian
( Human Rights Watch ) – (Geneva, February 13, 2020) – The release of the database of businesses contributing to illegal Israeli settlements is a major breakthrough in holding businesses accountable for their role in rights abuses, Human Rights Watch said today. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, released the database on February 12, 2020.
Settlements are at the root of serious, systematic violations of Palestinian rights, undermining their livelihoods
2020-02-15 05:02 | Israel/ Palestine | JuanCole
The death toll of a capsized boat full of Rohingya Muslim refugees has risen to at least 16. The death toll of a capsized refugee boat carrying about 125 Rohingya refugees from Bangladeshi camps has risen to at least 16, officials have said.
The boat sank early on Tuesday in the Bay of Bengal , according to officials.
The coast guard, navy divers and other rescuers recovered the bodies of 14
2020-02-11 12:02 | News | Al-Araby
Let’s cut to the chase – there is no question, no doubt, that the government of Myanmar and the army which controls it have committed the most vile atrocities against the Rohingya people, a Muslim minority that lives in the West of the Buddhist-dominated country. The International Court of Justice (the World Court) which ruled last month against the Myanmar government, may not have concluded it was genocide as some say but it did unreservedly condemn the government for its
2020-02-10 08:02 | articles 2015 | CounterPunch
Impeachment and Ukraine
Reading Between the Votes: 53 Senators Say Trump Guilty on the Facts
by Ryan Goodman ( @rgoodlaw )
The Most Serious Obstruction of All: The Vote to Block Witnesses and the Public’s Right to Know
by Ryan Goodman ( @rgoodlaw )
Republican Senators’ Short-Sighted Justifications for Acquitting Trump
by Ryan Goodman ( @rgoodlaw ) and Danielle Schulkin
Attorney General William Barr
2020-02-08 13:02 | Other | JustSecurity
Comment: President Trump has made Islamophobia one of the defining features of his presidency, writes Mobashra Tazamal. US President Donald Trump's actions in the first weeks of 2020 sent a clear signal about what lies ahead this election year. From ordering the assassination of a top Iranian general, despite the US not being formally at war with Iran, to threatening to bomb the country's cultural sites protected under international law, the twitter-loving leader is sure to
2020-02-04 23:02 | Comment | Al-Araby
The International Court of Justice issued an emergency injunction against Myanmar last month in a grossly delayed move by the international community to protect the country’s Rohingya minority against further brutality from the Burmese military. But while the unanimous verdict from the principal judicial organ of the United Nations is significant, at this stage it is still little more than a gesture, with Myanmar essentially able to choose whether or not it will comply.
This injunction
2020-02-03 13:02 | Articles, International, Aung San Suu Kyi | NovaraMedia
Impeachment, Ukraine and Russia Investigations
Votes on Witnesses and Conviction/Acquittal
Lessons for Life: The Obituaries of Republicans Who Opposed Nixon’s Impeachment
by Ryan Goodman ( @rgoodlaw )
Conduct of House Managers/President’s Legal Team
Impeachment Trial and Legal Ethics: Cipollone Should Be a Witness, Not a Trump Lawyer
by Stephen Gillers
The Ukrainian “Drug Deal” and All the President’s Lawyers
by Kathleen Clark ( @clarkkathleen
2020-02-01 13:02 | Other | JustSecurity
Last week’s decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Gambia v. Myanmar is a big deal in the world of atrocity prevention. The court unanimously accepted Gambia’s request to order Myanmar to protect its Rohingya population from genocide. In so doing, the court showed that international law can be a vehicle to help end atrocities, while also reviving some faith in the concept of erga omnes obligations – grounded in the idea that some
2020-01-31 15:01 | Complicity, International and Foreign, International Justice | JustSecurity
The Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish.
— Article 1. The Genocide Convention
On November 11, 2019 The Gambia filed at the International Court of Justice an Application of proceedings against Myanmar, which alleged violations of the Genocide Convention committed by Myanmar against the Rohingya people. 1 January 23, 2020, the International
2020-01-31 01:01 | Genocide, International Criminal Court, Myanmar/Burma | DissidentVoice
Egypt’s highest Islamic authority Al-Azhar thanked the Gambian government on Tuesday for filing a criminal case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Court condemning “the killings, abuse, genocide and displacement against the Rohingya Muslims.” Speaking at the Al-Azhar Global Conference on Renovation of Islamic Discourse held in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, the country’s grand mufti Shawki Allam said that such events “should not pass without reckoning,” describing the international community’s negligence to the event a “disgrace.”
The
2020-01-30 01:01 | Africa, Asia & Americas, Bangladesh | MiddleEastMonitor
The ICJ's ruling, while commendable and historic, does little to change realities on the ground for not only 1.3 million Rohingya refugees, but also the 200,000 who remain trapped. Last week, the United Nations' highest court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) handed down a historic decision in finding Myanmar guilty of " causing irreparable damage to the rights " of its Muslim minority, the Rohingya, ordering its government to take emergency measures to prevent genocide.
2020-01-29 11:01 | In-depth | Al-Araby
The rollback of democracy and human rights in Bangladesh should matter to the UK. As a long-term ally, Britain is Bangladesh’s third largest
export’s destination, the fifth largest source of remittances, and the second
largest foreign investor. On the 17 th January, a court in Bangladesh issued
an arrest warrant for a respected independent newspaper editor, after a student
was killed at an event organised by a sister publication. Matiur Rahman edits
the Prothom Alo daily and has
2020-01-29 08:01 | Brexit & Foreign Policy, Media Bias, global britain | LeftFootForward
The International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) Order to the Government of the Republic of Myanmar to adopt various provisional measures to protect the Rohingya community from “physical destruction” and to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article 11 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide including killing members of the group and imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group” is a decision of tremendous significance. The Order also urges the Myanmar
2020-01-29 08:01 | articles 2015 | CounterPunch
Comment: The ICJ ruling to protect Rohingya Muslims is a positive step, but by no means will guarantee their safety, writes Tasnim Nazeer. Rohingya Muslims, described by the UN as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world, have finally seen a beacon of light in the fight for justice driven forward by Gambia.
The historic decision by the UN's International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Myanmar is now legally bound
2020-01-29 01:01 | Comment | Al-Araby
American educational children’s television series “ Sesame Street ” is trying to help refugee children suffering from war by airing on channels in the Middle East, including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq, along with local channels and YouTube. The 26-minute long episodes will explore emotions experienced by all kids, but particularly relevant to children dealing with the trauma of displacement and will offer coping skills for feelings like anger, fear, frustration, nervousness, and loneliness.
“One of the
2020-01-27 14:01 | Asia & Americas, Iraq, Jordan | MiddleEastMonitor
Just days after the UN's top court ordered the country to protect the beleaguered Muslim minority, two Rohingya women were killed. Two Rohingya women were killed and seven others injured in shelling the Myanmar military and insurgents blamed on each other, days after the UN's top court ordered the country to protect the beleaguered Muslim minority.
One woman was killed on the spot by "heavy weapons" while another died after arriving at hospital in conflict-torn northern Rakhine state , military spokesperson Zaw Min Tun told
2020-01-26 11:01 | News | Al-Araby
The ICJ ruling on Myanmar is a rare bright point in a woeful international response. Unfortunately its powers are limited On Thursday the internet in Kutupalong, a city-sized refugee camp in south-eastern Bangladesh, was switched back on for a few hours. The camp’s residents gathered around their phones as, 5,000 miles away in The Hague, the international court of justice (ICJ) delivered a ruling on Myanmar’s treatment of its Rohingya Muslim minority. They cheered as the court issued
2020-01-24 16:01 | Rohingya | Guardian
In a major ruling, the U.N. International Court of Justice at The Hague has ordered Burma to “take all measures within its power” to protect Rohingya Muslims from genocide. The court issued the ruling Thursday, calling the 600,000 Rohingya remaining in Burma, also known as Myanmar, “extremely vulnerable” to military violence. The court ordered Burma to report regularly to the tribunal about its progress. The ruling is a sharp rebuke of Burma’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who
2020-01-24 13:01 | News | DemocracyNow
Some members of the Rohingya Muslim minority hailed the ruling by the UN's top court, while others were skeptical it would be implemented. The United Nations ' top court on Thursday ordered Myanmar to do all it can to prevent genocide against the Rohingya people, a ruling met by members of the Muslim minority with gratitude and relief but also some skepticism that the country's rulers will fully comply.
The
2020-01-24 10:01 | News | Al-Araby
( Human Rights Watch ) – (Brussels) – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) order on January 23, 2020, directing Myanmar to prevent all genocidal acts against Rohingya Muslims is crucial for protecting the remaining Rohingya in Rakhine State, Human Rights Watch said today. The court unanimously adopted “provisional measures” that require Myanmar to prevent genocide and take steps to preserve evidence.
Myanmar’s military committed extensive atrocities against the Rohingya, including murder, rape, and
2020-01-24 05:01 | Displaced and Refugees, Human Rights Watch, Myanmar | JuanCole
Democrats Accuse Trump of Trying to "Cheat" Upcoming Election Supreme Court Decides Not to Fast-Track Obamacare Case D.C. Sues Trump's Inaugural Committee over $1M Rental of Trump Hotel Ballroom ICJ Orders Burma to Protect Rohingya from Genocide Trump Says He's Planning to Add More Countries to Travel Ban State Department to Make It More Difficult for Pregnant Women to Receive Visas Trump
2020-01-23 13:01 | News | DemocracyNow
BBC The International Court of Justice has ordered measures to prevent the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar (formerly Burma). The decision comes despite de facto leader Aun San Suu Kyi defending her country against the accusations in person last month. Thousands of Rohingya died and more than 700,000 fled to Bangladesh during an army crackdown in 2017. UN investigators have warned that genocidal actions could recur. The ICJ case, lodged by
2020-01-23 10:01 | Rohingya in Arakan, Genocide, ICJ | RVision
Momentous pronouncement at Hague rejects Aung San Suu Kyi’s defence of her country’s military Myanmar has been ordered by the United Nations’ highest court to prevent genocidal violence against its Rohingya Muslim minority and preserve any evidence of past crimes. In a momentous and unanimous decision, the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague imposed emergency “provisional measures” on the country – intervening in its domestic affairs by instructing the government of Aung San Suu Kyi to respect
2020-01-23 10:01 | Rohingya | Guardian
Government-appointed investigators failed to meet alleged rape victims living in Bangladesh A Myanmar government-backed inquiry that dismissed allegations of genocide against the Rohingya has been condemned as a deeply flawed cover-up, after it failed to interview a single victim of rape. The full report of the panel inquiry, which has been criticised by the UN , was not made publicly available. It is not clear how many Rohingya were interviewed by the panel. Related:
2020-01-22 05:01 | Rohingya | Guardian
Media Release from Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK For Immediate Release 20th January 2020 Myanmar’s deeply flawed investigation into human rights
abuses in Rakhine State is another attempt to whitewash the Tatmadaw’s brutal
violence against the Rohingya, the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK)
said. The Independent Commission of Enquiry (ICOE) today announced
that its investigation into the Tatmadaw’s “clearance operation” in 2017 found
evidence of “war crimes” and “serious human rights abuses”, but not genocidal
intent.
2020-01-21 07:01 | Rohingya in Arakan, BROUK, Genocide | RVision
We are approaching that time of year when people of many faiths and none come together in unity to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, which serves as a stark reminder of how genocidal regimes throughout history have crushed communities by “othering”, marginalising and ultimately murdering minority groups. This year not only marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp, where more than one million Jews were exterminated by the Nazis, but also the 25th anniversary of the
2020-01-20 18:01 | Article, Asia & Americas, Bangladesh | MiddleEastMonitor
THE HAGUE — In a press release issued on January
15, ICJ announced that the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will
deliver, on Thursday 23 January 2020, its Order on the request for the
indication of provisional measures made by The Gambia in the case concerning
Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar). The Gambia filed the suit in November, alleging Myanmar was
committing “an ongoing genocide” against its minority Muslim Rohingya
population.
2020-01-15 20:01 | Rohingya in Arakan, Rohingya | RVision
The International Court of Justice, the United Nations’ highest court, will issue a decision on a request for emergency measures in a genocide case against Myanmar on January 23, the Gambian Ministry of Justice said on Twitter on Monday. The
mainly Muslim West African country filed the suit in November, alleging Myanmar
was committing “an ongoing genocide” against its minority Muslim
Rohingya population. The ICJ did not immediately respond to a request
for comment. Gambia has accused Myanmar of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention
2020-01-15 08:01 | Rohingya in Arakan, Genocide, ICJ | RVision
Gambia takes Myanmar to court In November 2019, The Gambia filed a case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice, with the support of 57 members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation . The case filed before the ICJ alleges that Myanmar’s atrocities against the Rohingya in Rakhine State violate various provisions of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (“the Genocide Convention”).
The genocide case brought
2020-01-08 19:01 | News | IFEX
According to Amit Shah, the national President of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), “Infiltrators [Muslim immigrants] are like termites in the soil of Bengal. The BJP Government will pick up the infiltrators one by one and throw them into the Bay of Bengal.” Such terminology may not surprise those living in the West ruled by the likes of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, wherein there is a growing Islamophobia industry. Nevertheless, they are pushing Muslims into a defeatist, oppressive, victim
2020-01-02 16:01 | Article, Asia & Americas, China | MiddleEastMonitor
Israel’s GDP was estimated at $387 billion in 2019, compared with $370 billion the previous year, and is expected to be $410 billion by the end of 2020. The Israeli economy is growing steadily which, when its size and population is taken into account, reflects outstanding economic progress.
Breaking down these figures, though, we find that illegal and unethical trade plays a very big role in promoting the Israeli economy. Israel was classified by the Stockholm International Peace
2019-12-31 13:12 | Article, Israel, Middle East | MiddleEastMonitor
Brewer’s parent company, Kirin, provides foreign currency to military accused of genocide Australian craft beer brewer Lion Little World has faced international criticism over a business partnership with the Myanmar military, which is accused of genocide in its persecution of the Rohingya ethnic and religious minority. Australia-based Lion Little World Beverages is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese beverage giant Kirin, which owns a little over half of both Myanmar Brewery and Mandalay Brewery in partnership with Myanmar Economic
2019-12-28 13:12 | Myanmar | Guardian
The UN's budgets for war crimes investigations in Syria and Myanmar will now receive compulsory contributions from all 193 member states. The United Nations General Assembly on Friday adopted a $3.07 billion operating budget which for the first time includes funding for the investigation of war crimes in Syria and Myanmar .
The budget represents a slight increase from 2019's figure of $2.9 billion.
The increase is due to additional missions assigned
2019-12-28 10:12 | News | Al-Araby
General assembly’s vote in favour of resolution also calls on Myanmar to urgently combat incitement of hatred The United Nations general assembly has approved a resolution condemning human rights abuses against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims and other minorities, including arbitrary arrests, torture, rape and deaths in detention. The 193-member body voted 134-9 with 28 abstentions on Friday in favour of the resolution, which also calls on Myanmar’s government to take urgent measures to combat incitement of hatred against the Rohingya
2019-12-28 01:12 | Myanmar | Guardian
A Myanmar ruling party official has been killed after being held for weeks by an armed group in Rakhine state. An official from Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party was killed in Myanmar's Rakhine state, as accusations over genocide mount against the country's leaders.
Ye Thein, who was the the National League for Democracy (NLD) party's chairman in Buthidaung township died after planning a show of support for Suu Kyi’s defence of Myanmar
2019-12-26 17:12 | News | Al-Araby
MAUNGDAW — A Rohingya youth is believed to be shot dead by the military in Kyun Pauk Pyu Su village of Northern Maungdaw, Arakan State on December 21, 2019. Following
multiple gunshots in the evening, the military officers informed the village
administration of a dead body laying down in an old grave. The
villagers along with the members of village administration found the dead body
with bullet injuries at the head. After a
postmortem conducted in General Hospital Maungdaw, the dead
2019-12-25 03:12 | Rohingya in Arakan, military, Rohingya | RVision
The union of Muslim countries into a single entity has been a dream that Muslims in the east and the west have had for around 100 years, ever since the fall of the Ottoman Caliphate after World War One and the distribution of its territories amongst the victorious colonial countries. The 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement divided the Muslim lands into states, mini-states and emirates, as the colonialists picked on the bones of the Ottomans like hyenas, looting their wealth in the
2019-12-24 18:12 | Article, Asia & Americas, EU | MiddleEastMonitor
Khartoum has seen warmer ties with Washington in recent months as it attempts to be removed from the state sponsors of terrorism list. The United States dropped Sudan from its list of nations that severely violate religious freedoms, signalling increased support for Sudan's transitional government .
The US State Department said it had upgraded Sudan to a special watch list for religious freedom, citing "significant steps taken by the civilian-led transitional government".
2019-12-22 14:12 | News | Al-Araby
Iran, Malaysia, Turkey and Qatar are considering trading among themselves in gold and through a barter system as a hedge against any future economic sanctions on them, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Saturday. At the end of an Islamic summit in Malaysia , Mahathir praised Iran and Qatar for withstanding economic embargoes and said it was important for the Muslim world to be self-reliant to face future threats. Mahathir said:
With the world witnessing nations
2019-12-22 13:12 | Asia & Americas, Europe & Russia, Iran | MiddleEastMonitor
T he irony of the ethical scandal enveloping Joichi Ito, the former director of the MIT Media Lab, is that he used to lead academic initiatives on ethics. After the revelation of his financial ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier charged with sex trafficking underage girls as young as 14, Ito resigned from multiple roles at MIT, a visiting professorship at Harvard Law School, and the boards of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the
2019-12-20 18:12 | Technology | TheIntercept
Photo by Nathaniel St. Clair
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” So said George Santayana.
It is difficult today to look at many, many situations in the world and not see some of the worst events in history being repeated, especially as they relate to racism and genocide. Has the world forgotten Nazi atrocities against Jews, Gypsies, intellectuals and others? Do we not remember the horrific U.S. bombing of two Japanese cities?
2019-12-20 08:12 | articles 2015 | CounterPunch
Representatives from Rohingya genocide survivors described Myanmar’s preparation for the repatriation of its deported citizens as “meaningless” as it is the same as the previous plan presented in the last meeting, without refugees’ least demands being met. It has been
presented in the meeting between refugee representatives and delegation from
Myanmar and ASEAN held on Dec. 18, 2019 at CiC office of Camp 4
extension, Kutupalonga, Cox’s Bazar and organized by RRRC. The meeting focused on the three main topics: dialogue,
2019-12-19 07:12 | Rohingya in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Repatriation | RVision
Burma’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has asked the U.N. International Court of Justice to drop the genocide case against Myanmar, formerly Burma. Suu Kyi is a Nobel Peace Prize winner who spent over a decade fighting against the Burmese military, which she is now defending. Last week, Suu Kyi appeared in person at the court to dispute the charges and called the allegations of genocide against Rohingya Muslims “incomplete and misleading.” The Burmese military killed and raped
2019-12-17 13:12 | News | DemocracyNow
A boat carrying nearly 200 Arakanese
Rohingya trying to flee the genocide arrested by Myanmar navy at around 155
miles off the coast of Kawthaung, the southernmost township of Myanmar on Dec.
15, at 8 pm, according to VOA. Myanmar Army media spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun
confirmed that they are Rohingya and mostly women and minors. They were about to be brought to Kawthaung by the Navy for
further interrogation and investigation, perhaps, before being jailed like the
previous group of 95.
2019-12-17 02:12 | Rohingya in Arakan, Boat people, Rakhine | RVision
By Christian
Caryl An extraordinary event took
place in the Netherlands this week: a hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that is a
first small step toward justice for one of the world’s longest-suffering
minority groups. On Thursday, an ICJ panel
wound up the first phase of a legal process aimed at determining
whether Myanmar committed an act of genocide against the Rohingya ethnic minority. In
August 2017, using a counterterrorism operation
2019-12-15 04:12 | Opinions | RVision