Canada applauds international court decision on Myanmar Rohingya genocide

OTTAWA — Canada is urging Myanmar to fully comply with an international court ruling calling on the South Asian country to protect its minority Muslim Rohingya population from genocide.

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says Canada will work with its allies to keep the pressure on Myanmar to comply with Thursday’s unanimous ruling by the International Court of Justice.

The 17 judges on the panel called on Myanmar to do everything in its power to stop what it said was a genocide against the Rohingya.

The court flatly rejected Myanmar’s plea — put forth by the country’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi — that the case be thrown out.

Suu Kyi, a one-time icon of peace who has since been stripped of her honorary Canadian citizenship, denied there was a genocide.

The crisis was sparked by the August 2017 campaign by Myanmar’s military in northern Rakhine state that forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh, amid accusations it committed mass murder and rape while burning thousands of homes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 23, 2020.

The Canadian Press