The International Law Section invites you to attend the sixth lecture of the ILS International Law and Practice Course 2025. Be inspired by Professor Catherine Renshaw as she shares her expertise on international human rights law in Myanmar.

This presentation will examine the international justice processes established to pursue accountability for atrocities against the Rohingya. It will also explore the implications of the military coup d’état that took place in 2021, and the role of the government-in-exile, the National Unity Government, in potentially expanding the reach of ICC jurisdiction. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of the geopolitical context in which the international proceedings involving Myanmar are taking place.

Registration includes International Law Section Membership for 2025/2026. Learn more about the ILS membership here.

More about the session

In 2016 and 2017, the Burmese military conducted what they described as ‘clearance operations’ in Rakhine state in the north-west of Myanmar. Rakhine is home to the Rohingya, a religiously and racially distinct group who have long been discriminated against by Myanmar’s Buddhist, ethnically Bamar rulers. The result of the military operations was that almost three quarters of a million Rohingya fled across the border to Bangladesh. United Nations reports describe a campaign of extreme violence against the Rohingya: indiscriminate killings, public mass gang rapes, the burning of villages and livestock, torture and mutilation.

On 11 November 2019, the Gambia commenced proceedings against Myanmar in the International Court of Justice, alleging Myanmar had breached the Genocide Convention in its attack on the Rohingya. Three days later, a Pre-trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) authorised the opening of a full investigation by the Office of the Prosecutor into crimes against humanity committed against the Rohingya. Both sets of proceedings rely on evidence gathered by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), established by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in September 2018. 

This presentation will examine the international justice processes established to pursue accountability for atrocities against the Rohingya. It will also explore the implications of the military coup d’état that took place in 2021, and the role of the government-in-exile, the National Unity Government, in potentially expanding the reach of ICC jurisdiction. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of the geopolitical context in which the international proceedings involving Myanmar are taking place.