Testing the Case of Rohingya Repatriation via a Judgment of the International Court of Justice

Abstract

Systemically and persistently deprived of their rights and suffering atrocities, the Rohingya are one of the most persecuted communities in the contemporary era. The Gambia has filed a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Myanmar, alleging that by perpetrating atrocities against the Rohingya, the latter has violated the provisions of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 1948. The Gambia has, inter alia, sought that the ICJ order that the Rohingya be repatriated to Myanmar. This paper would argue that from a policy point of view, repatriation is the only lasting remedy for the persecuted Rohingya. Relying on the past jurisprudence of the ICJ, it would explore whether the World’s Court may order the repatriation of the Rohingya to Myanmar.