GENEVA, March 11 — Officials from the International Criminal Court are in Bangladesh as part of a preliminary examination of whether a prosecution over the alleged deportations of Rohingya could be mounted, a UN human rights investigator said today.
“I am very hopeful. This is something that was unprecedented. It is a tiny step forward but I really do wish that this would open the floodgates (of justice),” said Yanghee Lee, the UN Special Rapporteur into human rights in Myanmar, adding that the ICC team were not interviewing victims.
Last September the ICC prosecutor opened a preliminary examination into whether alleged forced deportations of Rohingya from Myanmar could constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity. Bangladesh is a member of the court, although Myanmar is not and rejects its jurisdiction. — Reuters
