8/8/22, 9:18 PM New evidence shows how Myanmar's military planned the Rohingya purge Nay Myo Thet said he deserted in November and fled to a neighboring country.  A selfie taken by soldier Nay Myo Thet during his deployment in Rakhine in 2017. While the Burmese military faces grave allegations under international law, there is no easy road to convictions. Myanmar hasn’t signed the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has the power to try individual perpetrators for international crimes. As a result, the United Nations Security Council would typically have to refer allegations against Myanmar to the ICC. Such a move would likely be blocked by allies of Myanmar, say international law experts. But other paths to trial exist. The ICC set a legal precedent in 2019 by allowing its chief prosecutor to begin investigating crimes against the Rohingya population, including deportation, because they fled to Bangladesh, which is a party to the court. Also in 2019, majority-Muslim Gambia brought a case against Myanmar for genocide at the ICJ, on behalf of the 57 member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. In July, the court cleared the case to proceed, rejecting objections filed by Myanmar. The non-profit Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK also filed a lawsuit against both Min Aung Hlaing and Suu Kyi in Argentina under “universal jurisdiction,” a legal principle that allows brutal acts to be tried in any court in the world. A spokesman for Suu Kyi’s party said at the time that such a case would violate Myanmar’s national sovereignty. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/myanmar-rohingya-warcrimes-investigation/ 13/34