Myanmar: The case for universal jurisdiction  – Wed, February 1 2023

The mass atrocities committed against the Rohingyas and others in Myanmar since 2017, and which continue to this day across the country, have generated deep concern around the world.  

Crimes against humanity, genocide and torture are forbidden by international law and states should hold accountable those who participate in the commission of these crimes within their borders.  

But when the state where these crimes took place does not prosecute them or does not have a court system capable of delivering justice as is the case in Myanmar, the international community has used various mechanisms to hold perpetrators to account.  These have included ad hoc international criminal tribunals, the International Criminal Court (ICC), hybrid criminal tribunals that combine national and international elements, investigating mechanisms and transnational prosecutions. 

 

Under the universal jurisdiction principle, any state may prosecute, adjudicate and punish certain crimes even if it does not have any territorial, national or national-interest link with the crime when it was committed. In some cases, states have a duty to exercise universal jurisdiction regarding these crimes.