The international court of justice of the United Nations dismisses the military junta's justifications regarding its crackdown on a Muslim minority group.

Myanmar's attempts to halt a case accusing it of genocide against the Rohingya minority have been rejected by the highest court of the United Nations, paving the way for evidence of atrocities to be heard.

At a hearing on Friday, the international court of justice rejected all preliminary objections submitted by Myanmar, which is currently run by a military junta.

The complaint, launched by the Gambia, centers on deadly military crackdowns in 2016 and 2017 that drove more than 700,000 Rohingya across the border into neighboring Bangladesh.

It accuses Myanmar's military of conducting extensive and systematic "clearance operations" against the Rohingya, including mass murder, rape, and the torching of villages, with "the intent to destroy the Rohingya group in whole or in part."

Myanmar contended that the court lacked jurisdiction, arguing that Gambia could not bring the lawsuit since it was not directly impacted by the events and because there was no legal disagreement between the two nations prior to the filing of the complaint. It further asserted that the Gambia was acting as a "proxy" for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and that it lacked standing because the International Court of Justice exclusively judges on disputes between nations.

Each of these arguments was rejected by the court. The court's president, US Judge Joan E. Donoghue, stated when reading the judgement, "The court notes that the Gambia initiated the current proceedings in its own name as a state party to the court's statute and the Genocide Convention."

President of the Global Justice Centre Akila Radhakrishnan described Friday's verdict as "an enormous step forward for justice."

It sends a message to the military of Myanmar that they cannot commit atrocities with impunity. "The case proceeding is all the more crucial in light of the coup in February 2021, which was enabled and emboldened by the military's long-standing impunity," she said.

Last year, the military took control in a coup and has since waged a relentless campaign of violence against dissidents. In March, the UN office for human rights issued a warning that the junta's widespread and systematic abuses of civilians may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The head of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation in the United Kingdom, Tun Khin, stated that Myanmar's objections were an attempt to delay proceedings and that the persecution of Rohingya continues. "The lawsuit has been postponed for over a year and a half, while the genocide continues daily. "Laws and policies designed to make life unbearable and drive Rohingya out of Myanmar are part of the genocide and continue despite provisional measures ordered by the court," he said, referring to a previous court order instructing Myanmar to do everything it can to protect Rohingya from genocide while the lengthy case is pending.

Tun Khin urged the United Kingdom to join Gambia and support the lawsuit. "The United Kingdom claims international leadership on Myanmar, but Gambia has been leading," he remarked. The Netherlands and Canada are providing assistance to the Gambia.

As a result of last year's coup, the junta now represents Myanmar before the ICJ. The government of national unity, comprised of elected MPs, representatives of ethnic minorities, and activists, contended it should represent Myanmar in court and would withdraw preliminary objections.