From the day we escaped the genocide,
We count on days.
We count on months.
We count on years.
What we count, always passes away
What we’ve been seeking, has not arrived yetRohingya poet Mayyu Ali, ‘In Search of Justice’
Today, 9 December, is the international day of commemoration of the victims of genocide. Tomorrow, 10 December, is international Human Rights Day. These two days commemorate the anniversaries of the ground-breaking UN Genocide Convention and Universal Declaration of Human Rights respectively.
This year, there is a deeper poignancy to these two anniversaries. For on 10 December, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague will hear Gambia’s application to institute proceedings against Myanmar concerning Myanmar’s compliance with the Genocide Convention. This is the highest-profile ICJ case of the year, with Aung San Suu Kyi herself leading the Myanmar delegation.
Much has been and will be written about the legal prospects of this ICJ case, proceedings of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other initiatives to hold Myanmar to account for the genocide and crimes against humanity perpetrated against the Rohingya. Amid technical debates around intent, jurisdiction and scope, there is a danger that we may lose sight of something more fundamental.
