CNI News

20 January 2026

At the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Myanmar’s lead counsel, Mr. Christopher Staker, argued that the statements submitted by The Gambia do not meet the standard of evidence that the Court should take into consideration.

The Gambia has accused Myanmar of committing genocide and filed a case at the ICJ. Hearings in the case are being held from January 12 to January 29, 2026.

Myanmar began presenting its first oral arguments on January 16.

Myanmar’s lead counsel, Mr. Christopher Staker, argued that the reports of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission (FFM), which The Gambia has relied on as its primary sources in this case, as well as the statements collected by that mission, do not reach the evidentiary standard required for consideration by the Court.

He stated that the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), which was established as a body to collect evidence for international judicial proceedings, was able to provide only 42 witness statements relevant to this case during its period of operation, and that Gambia has relied on only 12 of those statements.

Myanmar and The Gambia are facing off at The Hague over genocide charges.

Mr. Christopher Staker further argued that although Myanmar does not recognize or cooperate with either of these two bodies, it has referred to Gambia’s cited evidence solely for the purpose of rebutting it.

Following this, Myanmar’s counsel, Ms. Leigh Lawrie KC, presented arguments on the emergence and evolution of the ARSA group, its organization and training, and its recruitment of civilians.

She also argued that in 2016 and 2017, Myanmar was compelled to carry out counterterrorism operations and other security measures in response to systematically planned and coordinated terrorist attacks carried out by ARSA.

In Rakhine State, Myanmar, the ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army) terrorist group simultaneously attacked 30 border guard police outposts on August 25, 2017, and killed members of Hindu and Rakhine ethnic communities.

Subsequently, the Myanmar Tatmadaw conducted area clearance and security operations, during which approximately 700,000 Bengalis fled to Bangladesh.

It was over these circumstances that Gambia accused Myanmar of committing genocide and filed the case against Myanmar at the ICJ in The Hague, Netherlands.