Civil society support for the application by the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court for an arrest warrant against Min Aung Hlaing

To: Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court

CC: Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court

9 December 2024

Subject: Civil society support for the application by the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court for an arrest warrant against Min Aung Hlaing

Your Excellencies,

On the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime, we, 174 Myanmar civil society organizations, have the honor to address Your Excellencies to express our unequivocal support for the investigation regarding the Situation in Bangladesh and Myanmar,[1] namely crimes against humanity, including deportation and persecution, perpetrated by the Myanmar military against the Rohingya population.

We commend the Office of the Prosecutor for its landmark application for an arrest warrant, dated 27 November 2024, against Min Aung Hlaing, the Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar military, for his criminal responsibility for crimes committed between 25 August and 31 December 2017.[2] This application represents a monumental step toward justice and accountability, not only for the Rohingya but for all peoples of Myanmar. We eagerly anticipate further applications for arrest warrants in the near future and strongly urge the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (the Court) to issue an arrest warrant for Min Aung Hlaing without delay.

For decades, the Myanmar military has engaged in a systematic campaign of violence and persecution against the Rohingya, employing physical violence, propaganda, and institutionalized discrimination. In 2017, this culminated in a brutal campaign of genocide, forcing more than 750,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh.[3] Today, an estimated 1 million Rohingya remain in refugee camps in Bangladesh, living in extremely precarious conditions.[4]

The situation in Myanmar remains dire. In Rakhine State, the Rohingya continue to endure grave persecution at the hands of the Myanmar military, which has carried out airstrikes on Rohingya villages,[5] blocked humanitarian aid,[6] and forcibly conscripted Rohingya civilians for military service, using them as frontline fighters and human shields,[7] with unchecked impunity. The Rohingya continue to face conditions akin to apartheid,[8] living in confined villages and internment camps under constant threat of violence and deprived of basic rights and freedoms, including access to food, healthcare, education, and employment.[9] This reality underscores the Myanmar military’s ongoing genocide and other international crimes against the Rohingya.

For decades and continuing today, the Myanmar military junta has targeted not only the Rohingya, but also other ethnic and religious minorities, as well as civil society organizations, pro-democracy activists, and human rights defenders, with “widespread and systematic” atrocities and human rights violations—emboldened by decades of complete impunity.[10] Since staging an illegal coup attempt on 1 February 2021, the military junta has intensified and expanded its violence against all peoples across Myanmar, killing more than 6,025 people and arbitrarily arresting more than 27,797.[11] Over the past three and a half years, the military has destroyed at least 105,314 civilian homes by arson[12] and launched more than 3,292 airstrikes—many targeting civilian areas, including internally displaced person camps, schools, medical facilities, and religious infrastructures.[13]

To prevent further atrocities and ensure justice for the Rohingya and all other communities in Myanmar, it is imperative that Min Aung Hlaing and others responsible be held accountable without delay. We recall the declaration of the National Unity Government of Myanmar, pursuant to Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute, granting the Court jurisdiction over international crimes committed in Myanmar since 1 July 2002.[14] We therefore call for further investigations by the Office of the Prosecutor into the Myanmar military’s commission of international crimes against the people of Myanmar since 1 July 2002, including the ongoing mass atrocity crimes committed nationwide since its attempted coup of February 2021.

In conclusion, while respecting the Court’s final decision, we reiterate our full support for the Office of the Prosecutor’s application for an arrest warrant against Min Aung Hlaing. We also look forward to further investigations by the Court and subsequent cases thereat related to the Myanmar military’s commission of genocide against the Rohingya, as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity against the people of Myanmar. The issuance of an international arrest warrant against Min Aung Hlaing would send a powerful message—not only to the Rohingya, but to the tens of millions of people in Myanmar who continue to suffer from the military’s crimes—that international criminal law is a vital tool for achieving justice and accountability, and that justice will prevail in their lifetimes.

We commend the Court and the Office of the Prosecutor for their steadfast commitment to securing justice for the Rohingya, and eagerly await further applications for and the issuance of arrest warrants related to the Situation in Bangladesh and Myanmar forthwith.

Sincerely,

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