Until the case concludes and the final judgment is issued, the State of Myanmar is obliged to continue reporting on compliance with the Court’s provisional measures order every six months. The length of court proceedings mean that even greater public scrutiny must be afforded to Myanmar’s compliance with the ICJ’s provisional measures order, given that its purpose is to protect the Rohingya from irreparable harm. It is unclear whether intervening States will be provided with Myanmar’s compliance reports and The Gambia’s written observations in response to those reports as part of their participation in proceedings. Next steps in the proceedings • Additional declarations of intervention: The Court will rule on whether or not the additional declarations of intervention filed by Slovenia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgium and Ireland are admissible. • Completion of written observations: Intervening States confirmed by the Court will be provided with copies of all written pleadings submitted by both The Gambia and Myanmar. The Court will then establish a deadline for intervening States to submit their written observations. • Oral hearings: Following the completion of all written submissions, the Court will schedule oral hearings where both the Gambia and Myanmar will present their cases, respond to questions, and provide additional evidence. • Deliberations by the judges: The ICJ judges will engage in private deliberations, reviewing all evidence and arguments to assess Myanmar’s compliance with the Genocide Convention. • Final judgment: The ICJ will issue a binding judgment on the merits of the case. If the Court finds in favour of The Gambia, it will determine Myanmar's responsibility under the Genocide Convention and set out legal obligations for reparations or guarantees of non-repetition. The next section of this report examines other alleged atrocity crimes committed in Rakhine State over the reporting period; further breaches of the ICJ’s provisional measures. Other atrocity crimes & the Arakan Army’s failure to comply with the provisional measures The International Court of Justice ordered the provisional measures in the context of The Gambia’s genocide case against Myanmar. The legal basis for the case is the Genocide Convention, to which both States are a party. The Gambia has also accused Myanmar of continuing to commit genocidal acts and of violating its other obligations under the Convention by failing to prevent and punish genocide. The Myanmar State has the primary responsibility to prevent and punish the crime of genocide and to prevent the commission of all atrocity crimes, as well as incitement to those crimes. The significance of the Court’s provisional measures order therefore extends beyond the prevention of the crime of genocide and State responsibility. The Court described the Rohingya remaining in Myanmar as ‘extremely vulnerable’ and referred to the ‘right of the Rohingya group in Myanmar and of its members to be protected from killings and other acts threatening their existence as a group’.160 In simple terms, the order sets out that the Rohingya must be protected from further harm. Their right to exist as a group must be protected, and their rights respected. The order must be interpreted within the wider body of international law. All human rights violations perpetrated against the Rohingya cause grave harm, especially those amounting to atrocity crimes. 160 ICJ, (23 January 2020) op. cit. 23[72], [70]. 29