“Tools of Genocide” III. LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND ANALYSIS This chapter considers treaty-based and customary law frameworks of international human rights law and international criminal law to examine the legal implications of the NVC process. The criminal dimensions are evaluated based on standards set forth in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as well as ad hoc tribunals established by the U.N. Security Council, such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).256 This analysis considers the facts documented both as standalone violations and violations that may have contributed to crimes against humanity and genocide committed during the military-led attacks on Rohingya civilians in Rakhine State in 2016 and 2017. Under international human rights law, Myanmar is obligated to uphold rights guaranteed under customary international law as well as core human rights treaties to which Myanmar is a party, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).257 Myanmar is also a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and recently affirmed its commitment to the rights articulated by the UDHR with its adoption of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration in 2012.258 In line with its commitments under international human rights law, Myanmar has a responsibility to ensure rights to nationality, non-discrimination, protection from torture or ill-treatment, freedom of movement, and an adequate standard of living.259 256 The scope of jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is limited to when a crime is committed within a country or by a national of a country that is a party to the Rome Statute, when a state agrees to ICC jurisdiction, or when a situation is referred to the Office of the Prosecutor by the U.N. Security Council. See, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute), adopted July 17, 1998, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.183/9, 2002. 257 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), adopted December 16, 1966, G.A. Res. 2200A (XXI), U.N. Doc. A/6316, ratified by Myanmar on October 6, 2017; Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), adopted December 13, 2006, G.A. Res. A/RES/61/106, U.N. Doc. A/61/49, acceded by Myanmar December 7, 2011; Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), adopted November 20, 1989, G.A. Res. 44/25, U.N. Doc. A/44/49, ratified by Myanmar July 15, 1991; Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted December 18, 1979, G.A. Res. 34/180, U.N. Doc. A/34/46, ratified by Myanmar July 22, 1997. 258 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted December 10, 1948, G.A. Res. 217A(III), U.N. Doc. A/810, voted in favor by Myanmar; ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, November 19, 2012, https://asean.org/asean-human-rights-declaration/ (accessed August 23, 2019). 259 In addition to treaty-based law, the UDHR serves as a “common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations” and includes the right to a nationality, the principle of nondiscrimination, the prohibition against torture or ill-treatment, the right to freedom of movement, and the right to an adequate standard of living. Hurst Hannum, “The Status of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in National and International Law,” Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law, Vol. 25, 1996, p. 290, (“The Universal Declaration remains the primary source of global human rights standards, and its recognition as a source of rights and law by states throughout the world distinguishes it from conventional obligations.”)

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents