The government will continue to act in accord with the international laws over the decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to reject Myanmar’s objections to genocide accusations, said Major General Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson for the State Administration Council.

On July 22, the ICJ rejected the preliminary objections to any court hearing raised by Myanmar as the court lacks jurisdiction.

“It is said that the decision will impact Myanmar. But it has become a ruling that will impact all global countries. For the Myanmar government, it will continue to act in line with the international laws. We still hope that the ICJ, as an organization making decisions in accord with the international laws, will be put to test for correctness and justice,” said Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun. 

Judge Joan Donoghue read the ruling at 7.30 pm Myanmar standard time on July 22 that Myanmar’s preliminary objections were rejected.

The SAC spokesperson said: “It is the decision the ICJ made yesterday (July 22). The Gambia is a country far away from Myanmar. There was no such a thing that harmed its interest. For this, there are four points we have submitted. They show that the court lacks jurisdiction to pass a ruling. This is just a first step. We learned yesterday that ICJ rejected our objections. I would say that unlike our domestic laws, this international law has no articles or provisions. They roughly decide depending on precedents, our traditions and dictums of law experts.”

Of the four points Myanmar objected to, three were rejected by all the ICJ judges and one was rejected by 15 judges while one supported it. The hearing for the judgment was attended by a Myanmar delegation led by Union Minister for International Cooperation U Ko Ko Hlaing.

After the ICJ rejection, the hearings on The Gambia’s genocide accusations against Myanmar will continue.