The International Court of Justice said on November 3 that it will rule on November 19 in Gambia's case accusing Myanmar's government of genocide against the Rohingya, a minority Muslim group. Judges will start reading out the judgment at 8:00 GMT, the court said.
Gambia brought the case in 2019, arguing that a 2017 offensive by Myanmar government forces that forced at least 730,000 Rohingya into neighboring Bangladesh constituted genocide. Rohingya refugees recounted killings, mass rape and arson, and a UN fact-finding commission concluded the offensive included "genocidal acts."
Myanmar denies the accusations and has said the offensive was a legitimate counter-terrorism campaign. Genocide has rarely been proven in international courts because judges must find the crimes were committed with the specific intent "to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group."
The ruling will be the first time in over a decade, and only the third time ever, that the ICJ hands down a judgment in a genocide case. The outcome is likely to shape future genocide cases at the court, including South Africa's 2023 case accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, a charge Israel denies.
The ICJ is the UN's highest court and deals with disputes between states and alleged breaches of international treaties including the 1948 Genocide Convention. Its rulings are final and without appeal.