The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has called upon its ad hoc ministerial committee led by the Gambia to take immediate measures to launch a case of Myanmar’s human rights violations against Rohingyas at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on behalf of the OIC.
It urged to use all international legal instruments to hold accountable the perpetrators of crimes against the Rohingya.
The OIC made the decision at the final communiqué, issued after the 14th Islamic Summit Conference held in Makkah, Saudi Arabia attended by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina along with other head of the government and states of OIC member state on May 31 last.
The communiqué, published in OIC Tweeter page affirmed support to it’s the ad hoc ministerial committee on human rights violations against the Rohingyas in Myanmar.
It further called for ensuring free and unrestricted access to humanitarian assistance by affected persons and communities.
The conference reiterated its deep appreciation for the people of Bangladesh and the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for opening their hearts and borders and giving shelter in Bangladesh to the forcibly displaced Rohingyas and consistently supporting the dispossessed and distressed Rohingya with Bangladesh’s scarce resources.
The conference called on the member states to come up generously to share the increasing burden of Bangladesh.
Currently, Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million forcefully displaced Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar district and most of them arrived here since August 25, 2017 after a military crackdown by Myanmar termed as “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” by the UN.
The conference condemned the inhumane situation in which the Rohingya Muslim community lives and called for urgent action to end acts of violence and all brutal practices targeting this minority and give it all its rights without any discrimination or racial profiling.
It insisted on the importance of conducting international, independent and transparent investigations into the human rights violations in Myanmar, including sexual violence and aggression against children, and to hold accountable all those responsible for these brutal acts in order to make justice to the victims, according to state-owned BSS news agency.
The conference emphasised that the government of Myanmar is fully responsible for the protection of its citizens and underscored the need to stop the use of military power in Rakhine immediately.
The OIC urged the Myanmar government to take practical, time-bound and concrete steps to restore the citizenship of Rohingya IDPs and forcibly displaced Rohingya Muslim Minority Community who were deprived of their nationality, with all associated rights, especially the right to full citizenship, and to allow and facilitate the return in safely, security and dignity of all Rohingyas internally and externally displaced, including those forced into taking shelter in Bangladesh.