The Grimshaw Review of International Affairs Vol. 2, No. 1 legal recognition to the Rohingya (Aziz 2024: 5230). However, despite its ability to create ‘spaces’ to amplify voices – whether those of the Rohingya or their advocates – and influence global discourse, social media’s impact is fundamentally constrained by the military junta’s resistance to international pressures and the slow pace of international legal processes. Furthermore, the fact that the UN Security Council has thus far failed to enforce the ICJ’s decision in favour of the plaintiffs – due to the veto power of states like China – reveals how social media activism struggles to translate into concrete action when faced with powerful states who hold opposing interests (Ibrahim, 2020). Consequently, this lack of enforcement risks eroding the authority of international law (Ibrahim, 2020; Human Rights Watch, 2022), illustrating how digital spaces, while impactful in public discourse, ultimately cannot challenge entrenched geopolitical power and compel meaningful legal or political action. Despite these limitations, international sanctions remain an important avenue through which digital advocacy can reinforce material accountability, particularly when used to pressure states and institutions into acting against perpetrators of repression. While digital mobilisation alone may not dismantle entrenched geopolitical structures, it can amplify calls for justice, increase visibility, and generate the political will necessary for sanctions to be imposed and strengthened. Sanctions – especially when linked to transnational advocacy campaigns – serve both instrumental and expressive functions; even if they rarely succeed in altering state behaviour on their own, they indicate global condemnation and restrict the material and political resources available to violators (Asia Justice Coalition, 2021). Despite being limited in impact, multilateral sanctions also send a stronger collective message and reinforce diplomatic isolation (Asia Justice Coalition, 2021). It should thus be considered that sanction-implementing states have actionable tools at their disposal, including treating violations as strict liability offences and prosecuting actors who had “reasonable cause to suspect” wrongdoing (Asia Justice Coalition, 2021). However, the effectiveness of sanctions is highly contingent on regional coordination whereby proper enforcement requires ongoing political will – often best supported through online activism – as it raises awareness and moral urgency. 23