Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab Contributor
Dr Ewelina U Ochab is a Forbes contributor, lawyer, and author.
Feb 14, 2025,06:05pm EST
On February 13, 2025, a federal criminal court in Buenos Aires, Argentina, ordered arrest warrants against 25 Myanmar military leaders and officials for their involvement in the crime of genocide and crimes against humanity committed against the Rohingya community. The atrocities refer to the litany of crimes perpetrated by the military against the Rohingya, an ethno-religious numeric minority community in the country, between 2016 and 2017, including “Extrajudicial executions or other killings, including by random shooting; enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention; rape, including gang rape, and other forms of sexual violence; physical assault including beatings; torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; looting and occupation of property; destruction of property; and ethnic and religious discrimination and persecution.” The crimes are said to have resulted in the death of at least 10,000 people and the forcible displacement of over 700,000 Rohingya, half of them children. Experts have classified the atrocities as genocide and crimes against humanity. In March 2022, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken formally recognized the atrocities against the Rohingyas as genocide and crimes against humanity during his visit to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and a tour of the exhibit “Burma’s Path to Genocide.” As Secretary Blinken confirmed, this decision was reached based on a factual assessment and legal analysis prepared by the State Department.
This is the first time that arrest warrants have been issued against the Myanmar military anywhere in the world. The case, under the principle of universal jurisdiction, was first initiated following a complaint filed by the Burmese Rohingya Organization UK (BROUK) in November 2019. Initially, the request was rejected. However, in 2021, the appeals court overturned a lower court ruling, opening the door for further action. Seven Rohingya witnesses, six of whom were women including survivors of severe sexual violence, gave critical evidence in this case in 2023. The witnesses have been supported by Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), an independent non-profit organization comprised of human rights lawyers and jurists working in fragile and conflict-affected areas. In June 2024, Prosecutor Guillermo Marijuán requested the arrest warrants.
The arrest warrants include senior military leaders, among others, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Min Aung Hlaing, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services, Soe Win, and the former commander of the Western Command, Maung Maung Soe. Others indicted are low-ranking officials identified as direct perpetrators of the crimes.
Argentina is expected to request INTERPOL’s Red Notices for the 25 indicted individuals. Once issued, countries around the world will have to execute the arrest warrants and extradite the individuals to Argentina to face a preliminary hearing.
While the Argentine court was the first to issue arrest warrants against the Myanmar military, in November 2024, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) applied for an arrest warrant for the Commander-in-Chief, Min Aung Hlaing. As he noted, the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC concluded that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that Senior General and Acting President Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Defense Services, bears criminal responsibility for the crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution of the Rohingya, committed in Myanmar, and in part in Bangladesh.” Furthermore, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is said to hold hearings in the case of The Gambia v. Myanmar, where the Gambia instituted proceedings for Myanmar’s alleged violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
These are important steps towards justice and accountability for the Rohingya. The community, subjected to decades of discrimination, marginalization and persecution, continued to be neglected for too long. The progress made, at last, means that the victims and survivors of the atrocities may see some justice being done during their lifetime. It cannot end here, especially as the military continues to hold a strong grip over Myanmar, perpetrated widespread human rights violations and destruction, and continues to pose an existential threat to the Rohingya.
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