Based on the proceedings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case of The Gambia v. Myanmar regarding allegations of genocide against the Rohingya, the judges have posed several challenging questions to the Myanmar government and Tatmadaw (military) representatives.

One of the judges is Judge CHARLESWORTH. Hilary Christiane Mary Charlesworth is an Australian international lawyer. She has been a Judge of the International Court of Justice since 5 November 2021, and is Harrison Moore Professor of Law and Melbourne Laureate Professor at the University of Melbourne, and Distinguished Professor at the Australian National University. Out of her four questions, the following two are considered highly significant, remarkable and arduous for the Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) due to their direct impact on the military’s autonomy and actions. In addition, these questions also create a daunting task for the Min Aung Hlaing led military regime to answer truthfully.

(2) “According to The Gambia, ‘as of 18 October 2018, at least 178 Rohingya villages had been totally destroyed by fire, with an additional 214 partially destroyed’154. What total numbers of destroyed and partially destroyed villages has Myanmar recorded? What is the nature of Myanmar’s evidence?

The second part to the question is: According to Myanmar’s evidence, how many of these villages were destroyed by ARSA, how many were destroyed by the Tatmadaw during the ‘clearance operations’, and how many were destroyed by the Myanmar Government after the ‘clearance operations’? Again, what is the nature of Myanmar’s evidence?”

(4) “Myanmar has conceded that it is not possible for it to ‘discount the possibility of incidents of serious sexual assault’ having taken place during the ‘clearance operations’157. Our question is: What measures have been taken by Myanmar to investigate whether such incidents took place and what were the results of any such investigations?”

Legal Aid Network

Jan 23 2026