UN’s top court to hold Myanmar genocide hearings in January

Witnesses from Myanmar’s Rohingya community will also address closed-door ICJ hearing.Published On 20 Dec 2025The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will hold public hearings in a landmark case next month accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against its Rohingya community, the top United Nations court said.The proceedings are expected to set precedents that could affect South Africa’s case against Israel over the war in Gaza, as this will be the first genocide case the ICJ has heard on its merits in more than a decade.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Myanmar military says armed groups used hospital it bombed, killing dozenslist 2 of 4‘New world disorder’: Sudan, Palestine top IRC’s 2026 Emergency Watchlistlist 3 of 4Myanmar regime claims Aung San Suu Kyi ‘in good health’ despite son’s fearslist 4 of 4US aid cuts force Rohingya girls into marriage, children into hard labourend of listIn the first week of hearings, The Gambia, a predominantly Muslim West African country which brought the case to the ICJ, will outline its arguments from January 12 to 15.Backed by the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation, The Gambia filed the case at the ICJ in 2019, accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against the mostly Muslim Rohingya ethnic group.Myanmar, which has denied carrying out genocide, can then present its case before the court from January 16 to January 20.In an unusual move, the ICJ has also allocated three days for hearing witnesses. These hearings will be closed to the public and media.“The hearings will be devoted to the merits of the case and will include the examination of witnesses and an expert called by the Parties,” the ICJ said in a statement.Filed by The Gambia to the UN’s top court in 2019, the case accuses authorities in Myanmar of violating the UN genocide convention during a brutal crackdown by the country’s army and Buddhist militias on the Rohingya in 2017.More than 742,000 Rohingya fled the bloodshed, while witnesses reported murders, rape and entire villages burned to the ground.