Session 6:
Myanmar and the Pursuit of International Justice
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.Tuesday
5 August 2025
7:45 am - 9:00 am
AEST
Register your in-person attendance via email to isabelle.coleman@lawcouncil.au
Marque Lawyers
Level 4/343 George St
Sydney NSW 2000
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.Meet the Speaker
Catherine Renshaw is the Deputy Chair of the International Law Section at the Law Council of Australia. She is the Dean of Law at Western Sydney Law and she is the co-chair of the International Human Rights Law chapter of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law, Director of the Network for Law and Human Rights and a member of the Advisory Committee of Rights of Older Persons Australia (ROPA).
Catherine practiced law for approximately 10 years, including as an anti-discrimination lawyer for the Legal Aid Commission of New South Wales, and for the law firms Allens and Sparke Helmore. As an academic, she focuses on the legitimacy and effectiveness of international human rights law, domestically and across the Indo-Pacific. She has a wealth of experience in Myanmar owing to her work with civil society groups and pro-democracy activists prior to the coup d'état in 2021.