Gambia v. Myanmar : Second round of oral hearings

Myanmar's lawyers argued that Gambia's evidence was insufficient and refuted claims made by Gambia’s witnesses, at the second round of oral hearings on the case between Myanmar and Gambia, at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on January 29.

Myanmar's defense included statements that they had allowed UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar Ms. Yang Hee Lee, to visit the country multiple times, but had lost trust in her after her statements in 2017 were seen as biased against Myanmar.

Myanmar also argued that third-party investigations, such as the UN's Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) and Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), were not fair and were influenced by countries opposing Myanmar.

The hearings also addressed whether Myanmar had intentionally targeted ethnic groups and committed genocidal acts, including violence against civilians and sexual crimes. Myanmar’s lawyers denied these allegations, stating that evidence provided by Gambia was not credible.

In conclusion, Myanmar's representatives argued that Gambia’s requests should be dismissed, and the ICJ should reject Gambia’s claims about Myanmar's responsibility for genocide. Union Minister at the President's Office U Ko Ko Hlaing made a final statement asking the court to dismiss all of Gambia's requests.