DHAKA, BANGLADESH - Investigators from the International Criminal Court have begun collecting evidence for a case involving alleged crimes against humanity by Myanmar against Rohingya Muslims who then fled to neighboring Bangladesh, a court official said Tuesday.
Phakiso Mochochoko, director of the Jurisdiction, Complementary and Cooperation Division of the ICC office of the prosecutor, said a team of investigators is visiting refugee camps to collect evidence. He said justice will be delivered whether Myanmar cooperates or not.
Mochochoko told reporters in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, that The Hague-based court will pursue the case even though Myanmar is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court, and urged the Buddhist-majority nation to cooperate. Myanmar has denied committing crimes against humanity or genocide.
He said the court has a mandate to proceed with the case because Bangladesh is a party to the statute and the Rohingya crossed the border into that country.
More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh after Myanmar security forces launched a crackdown on the Muslim minority in August 2017. Bangladesh currently houses over 1 million Rohingya refugees.