The Gambia Genocide
- 18 hours ago
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By: Syuzanna Zakaryan
Amongst many political issues in today’s society, the Rohingya genocide stands as one of the most pivotal humanitarian crises of the 21st century. It has raised international awareness and concern as Gambia filed a case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice in 2019, alleging that Myanmar’s atrocities against ethnic Rohingya in 2016 and 2017 violated the Genocide Convention of 1948. The 1948 Genocide Convention was adopted by the United Nations on December 9, 1948, in the aftermath of the Holocaust during World War II, which makes genocide an international crime, whether committed during war or peace. The case brought global attention to decades of discrimination and violence that the Rohingya have endured. The crisis demonstrates how systematic exclusion and abuse of power can have an impact on many individuals and lead to mass atrocities (Bauchner, 2026).
The Rohingya are an ethnic and predominantly Muslim minority group living in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. For decades, the Rohingya have faced discrimination and repression, which is mostly rooted in Myanmar’s 1982 Citizenship Law, which denied them official recognition as one of the country’s ethnic groups. As a result, they became one of the largest stateless populations in the world. (Human Rights Watch, 2024). Today, about one million Rohingya are living in camps in Bangladesh after fleeing in 2017 (Bauchner, 2026). This all happened after the Myanmar military launched what is called “clearance operations” following attacks by Arqakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Amnesty International, 2018). These actions led to widespread killings, sexual violence, and other abuses. For instance, one survivor, Hassina Begum, a 20- year old Rohingya woman from the village of Tula Toli, described to Human Rights Watch how soldiers separated men from women and children before executing the men and burning their bodies in mass graves along the riverbank. She recounted that after her infant daughter was killed, she and several other women were taken to a nearby house and sexually assaulted, and left inside as the soldiers set the building on fire. Hassina was fortunate to survive the horrors as she escaped through the burning bamboo walls; however, most of the women and children were killed (Human Rights Watch, 2017).
They also burned many villages, which prompted more to flee (Mishra, 2026). In contrast, the remaining 600,000 Rohingya in Rakhine State are persecuted and witness violence. Most importantly, they have no access to adequate food, health care, or education (Human Rights Watch, 2024). The case brought by The Gambia at the court is historic, as it is the first time a non-injured State has sought to hold Myanmar accountable under the Genocide Convention, including allegations of sexual and gender-based violence (Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, 2026).
Ultimately, the Rohingya crisis is not just a regional conflict but also a global human rights failure. The case brought by the Gambia against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice reveals that genocide is a crime that concerns the entire international community. This case is a significant epitome of the importance of stronger global enforcement so that similar tragedies do not occur in the future.
Works Cited
Amnesty International. (2018, May 22). Myanmar: Attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army on Hindus in northern Rakhine State. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa16/8454/2018/en/
Bauchner, S. (2026, January 29). Rohingya genocide case moves to Judgment. Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/01/29/rohingya-genocide-case-moves-to-judgment
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. (2026, February 10). The concluding stage of the Gambia v Myanmar genocide case before the International Court of Justice. https://www.globalr2p.org/publications/the-concluding-stage-of-the-gambia-v-myanmar-genocide-case-before-the-international-court-of-justice/
Massacre by the river. Human Rights Watch. (2017, December 19). https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/12/19/massacre-river/burmese-army-crimes-against-humanity-tula-toli
Mishra, V. (2026, January 12). UN World Court begins landmark hearings on Rohingya genocide case against Myanmar | UN News. United Nations. https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/01/1166746
Rohingya. Rohingya | Human Rights Watch. (2024, August 12). https://www.hrw.org/tag/rohingya
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