Gambia’s Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou speaks on the first day of hearings in a case against Myanmar alleging genocide against the minority Muslim Rohingya population at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Credit: UN Photo/ICJ-CIJ/Frank van Beek.

The essentials: A case of alleged genocide brought against Myanmar by The Gambia in defence of the Rohingya people was heard last week. The Gambia’s Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou led the delegation at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague while Myanmar leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, spoke for Myanmar.

The context: The Gambia has been hailed for standing up for Myanmar’s Rohingya, a Muslim minority, many of whom fled the country to Bangladesh due to persecution. Tambadou pushed for the ICJ case after he visited overcrowded refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, a city in Bangladesh last year. The minister had been attending a conference of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and what he saw and heard, he said, was proof of genocide.

Tambadou, a human rights lawyer, had been part of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and helped prosecute war criminals following the 1994 genocide. Now, he is taking on Myanmar on behalf of the OIC.

The court hearings took place over three days with Tambadou accusing Myanmar of acts of genocide and urging the court to step in and take actions to stop violence against the Rohingya. Suu Kyi, in Myanmar’s defence, denied the allegations and claimed security forces have only been responding to an insurgency in Rakhine State, which housed a significant Rohingya population. Suu Kyi accused Tambadou of painting an inaccurate picture of the conflict and misleading the court.

The good: Gambia’s solidarity with the Rohingya has earned it praise, with many noting that the small West African country stepped up when more powerful Muslim majority countries have not even attempted to stand with the minority group. Rohingya refugees chanted “Gambia, Gambia” as they watched the court proceedings. It’s especially commendable that The Gambia is fighting for justice in a land far from its shores at a time when it is still healing from former dictator Yayha Jammeh’s brutal rule.

The bad: The court is expected to make a ruling on the case next month but there are fears that genocide, which requires that intent be proven, will be ruled out. While some say The Gambia’s actions would then have been for nothing, it’s important to highlight that fighting for justice, whatever the results, should never count as nothing.

The future: The world awaits a ruling and many hope it’ll be in favour of the Gambian minister, and thus, the Rohingya. The impact of the ruling itself is being questioned: The ICJ’s 1993 rulings had little effect in preventing mass killings like the Srebrenica massacre, for example. What’s without doubt, however, is that a tiny African country can be a loud voice on human rights.

• With memories of Rwanda: The Gambian minister taking on Suu Kyi (Reuters)
• Gambian minister brought Myanmar to The Hague ‘in the name of humanity’ (PRI)
• At top court, Myanmar urged to ‘stop genocide of own people’ (Al Jazeera)
• Opinion: Gambia’s case against Myanmar no help to Rohingya (DW)
• Africa needs The Gambia’s leadership on human rights (Al Jazeera)
• Press release of the ICJ summarizing The Gambia’s case (ICJ)

Written by Shola Lawal

Pay what you want for the FULL Africa Insiders Newsletter!

We hope you enjoyed this Free Edition of the Africa Insiders, but is only a taste of the full experience. This week, the Full Edition also covered:

• What We are Talking About: Nigeria escalates criminalization of LGBT community 
• Continental Health corner: Kenya experiments with an early epidemic warning system
• Links of the week: Everything Africa-related that is worth your time and attention

To upgrade, email [email protected], telling us the price you’d like to pay.

Yes, you decide the price as long as it’s at least $2 per month to cover the transaction costs.

If you are unsure what to pay, we recommend $10, but it’s up to you and we won’t judge. If you give more ($15/month, $50/month, $100/month!), your extra donation above $10 will go into a special fund for AfricanArguments.org to commission in-depth articles by African writers and journalists that will be free to read for everyone.

Again, just email [email protected] and let us know any amount of $2 or more and you’ll get the Full Africa Insiders Newsletter for the price that feels right to YOU!

The Africa Insiders’ Newsletter is a collaboration between AfricanArguments.org and @PeterDoerrie, with contributions from @_andrew_green and @Shollytupe and assistance from Stella Nantongo. Part of the subscription revenue is funding in-depth and freely accessible reporting and analysis on African Arguments.