The News
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor asked for an arrest warrant for Myanmar’s junta chief, Min Aung Hlaing, for suspected crimes against humanity against the country’s largely Muslim Rohingya minority.
The court’s judges will now convene to decide whether the request is reasonable, a process that is expected to take up to three months.
One million Rohingya began fleeing Myanmar in 2017, after a military campaign that UN officials have described as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” Most now live in camps in Bangladesh.
Myanmar denies the allegations, saying the attacks were carried out against militants that were attacking police posts.
The ICC prosecutor’s request comes as violence against the Rohingya community has reignited, a human rights counsel told Reuters, noting it is “an important step toward breaking the cycle of abuses and impunity” that has fueled the unrest.
Other human rights groups and Rohingya representatives praised the announcement, with one leader describing it as “a rare day of celebration,” Reuters reported, while Myanmar authorities have yet to respond.