OTTAWA — Canada is supporting a genocide prosecution against the Myanmar government for systemic violence that forced more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee their country.
Gambia filed the genocide case earlier today with the International Criminal Court in The Hague on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Co-operation.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland says in a statement the move will advance accountability for the crime of genocide, which includes mass murder, systemic discrimination, hate speech and sexual and gender-based violence.
Freeland says the Canadian government will look for ways to support Gambia’s legal efforts.
To that end, she says the government will enlist the help of former Liberal interim leader and longtime politician Bob Rae, who also served as Canada’s special envoy to Myanmar.
Myanmar’s military launched attacks against the Rohingya in August 2017 in what has been widely seen as an act of ethnic cleansing that included mass killings and rapes, and the razing of Rohingya villages.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 11, 2019.
The Canadian Press
The Canadian Press
