DHAKA: The International Criminal Court (ICC) has vowed to speed up a probe into alleged genocide by Myanmar’s army against the Rohingya Muslim, following ICC’s chief prosecutor held meeting with survivors in Bangladesh.
ICC Vows to Accelerate Efforts to Bring Justice to Rohingya
ICC’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan has arrived in Bangladesh for a four-day trip to hear testimony from the violence-hit people. Karim Khan met the survivors in Cox’s Bazar refugees’ camp in Bangladesh.
In 2018, a United Nations fact-finding mission recorded widespread killings, village burnings and rape in which the Myanmar army was accused of attacking Rohingya Muslim with “genocidal intention.”
Following the reports, ICC judges in 2019 permitted a probe into the events, adding there existed a “reasonable ground to believe systematic and widespread acts of violence may have been carried that could qualify as extreme crimes against humanity.”
The ICC chief prosecutor told media persons in Dhaka that he hoped to be back in Bangladesh in upcoming year to speak to more violence-hit people.
“What I can pledge is that we will have outcomes,” he added. “The ICC team will be working very hard; we will try to speed up our efforts to move forward.”
Khan also thanked Bangladesh for hosting and giving humanitarian aid to the Rohingya refugees, although Bangladesh is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.
