ICC Prosecutor Requests Arrest Warrant for Myanmar Military Council Leader

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, requested on Wednesday that judges issue an arrest warrant for the leader of Myanmar’s military council, Min Aung Hlaing, over alleged crimes against humanity committed against the Rohingya Muslim minority.

According to Agence France-Presse, Khan’s request, made to judges in the court based in The Hague, marks the first request for an arrest warrant against a high-ranking Burmese official related to violations against the Rohingya.

Khan stated in a press release: “After a lengthy, independent, and impartial investigation, my office has concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the senior-ranking general, Min Aung Hlaing, who is currently acting president… bears criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity.”

These include crimes of deportation and persecution allegedly committed between August 25 and December 31, 2017, according to Khan.

The Burmese military council rejected the prosecutor’s move, stating that the country is not a member of the ICC and thus “has never recognized the statements of the International Criminal Court.”

In 2019, the ICC prosecutor opened an investigation into alleged crimes committed against the Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in 2016 and 2017, which led approximately 750,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh, where around one million Rohingya now live in camps near the border city of Cox’s Bazar.

Several people who fled the Burmese military accuse it of carrying out mass killings and rapes.

Khan mentioned that the crimes were committed by Myanmar’s armed forces (Tatmadaw), supported by national police, border police, “and non-Rohingya citizens.”

Khan said, “This is the first request for an arrest warrant against a senior government official in Myanmar… more similar requests will follow.”

Myanmar has been experiencing conflict between the military and various anti-government armed groups since the February 2021 coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government.

Rebels launched a major attack last year, capturing a large area near the border with China.

Rohingya people still in Myanmar are deprived of citizenship, healthcare, and need special permission to leave their areas.

Min Aung Hlaing, who was the military commander during the security campaign against the minority, has referred to the term “Rohingya” as “illusory.”

Judges at the ICC will now have to decide whether to issue arrest warrants. If issued, member states of the ICC, which number 124, would be required to arrest Min Aung Hlaing if he visits any of these countries. China, Myanmar’s primary ally and largest weapons supplier, is not a member of the court.