ICC prosecutor seeks jurisdiction over Myanmar Rohingya expulsions

The ICC's chief prosecutor has submitted a filing requesting a decision on whether the international tribunal can investigate and prosecute of the deportation of Rohingya.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

10 April, 2018

Fatou Bensouda requested a decision on whether the ICC has jurisdiction over the matter [AFP]

The International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor has requested a decision on whether the tribunal has jurisdiction over the deportation of Rohinghya Muslims from Myanmar, according to a new filing published on Monday.

The filing could lead to an investigation into the expulsion of Rohingya from Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh.

"This is not an abstract question but a concrete one, affecting whether the Court may exercise jurisdiction... to investigate and, if necessary, prosecute," Bensouda said in the filing, which is the first of its kind at the ICC.

While Bangladesh is a member of the the international court, Myanmar is not, raising doubt over whether the ICC is able to investigate and prosecute over the matter.

Bensouda, however, says that the cross-border nature of the matter makes it an area of concern of the court.

Some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled over the border to Bangladesh since August to escape a bloody military crackdown that has left a trail of torched villages in its wake as refugees allege murder and rape by Myanmar's armed forces.

The army denies the allegations and casts its campaign as a legitimate response to Rohingya militant attacks on August 25 that killed about a dozen border guard police.

Myanmar and Bangladesh signed a repatriation deal in November, however the UN says conditions in Myanmar are still not suitable for their return.