Washington Post | Letter: Countries are legally bound to punish Myanmar’s genocide
Excerpt of Washington Post Letter to the Editor from GJC Deputy Legal Director Grant Shubin.
The Aug. 25 editorial “For Myanmar, impunity, not accountability” said Western governments should do more to hold the Myanmar military and its backers to account for horrific crimes against the Rohingya. But that lets the West off the hook considerably for what is actually a binding legal obligation as well as a moral one.
The editorial noted that the United Nations fact-finding mission on Myanmar invoked the Genocide Convention in its condemnation of the military’s atrocities. Parties to the convention, which includes most Western nations, are obligated to do everything within their power to prevent and punish Myanmar’s genocide. This means bringing the issue of individual and state responsibility to the Security Council, which should lead to a resolution referring the situation to the International Criminal Court.