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Bangladesh has provided ৫ 5.5 million in a fundraising campaign launched at the ongoing meeting of foreign ministers of the OIC, an organization of 57 Muslim countries, to help the West African country in the legal battle against the Gambia for Myanmar for the Rohingya genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Ambassador of Bangladesh in Saudi Arabia. Mohammad Javed Patwari said: “We have already provided this money to the OIC fund to help The Gambia in its legal battle.”
Patwari, who led the Dhaka delegation to the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) in Niger, said the OIC General Secretariat has opened a special account to assist the ICJ in the fight against the Gambia. And the West African country has also indicated an urgent need for funding.
“I urge OIC member states to make urgent, voluntary and meaningful contributions to this legal case,” said Gambian Justice Minister Daouda A. Jalo, introducing the latest update on the Rohingya CFM case. The Rohingya crisis is the main topic of discussion at CFM.
He said the Gambia needed around £ 5 million to bring the case, especially to pay the lawyers. A well-known US-based law firm has already been hired to defend the case. Unfortunately, they have yet to receive significant funding for the legal services the legal entity has been providing since September 2019. Earlier this month, the law firm received £ 300,000, less than 10 percent of what it owed.
The Gambian minister said the case was aimed at finding a final and lasting solution to the Rohingya crisis. He warned that the OCI should take all possible measures regarding the Rohingya issue at the ICJ in coordination with his country in the interest of the case. He warned that any uncoordinated action by the OIC could damage the case and further complicate the matter.
Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist East Asian country, launched a brutal military operation on August 25, 2016, forcing more than 1.1 million Rohingya from Rakhine State to flee their homeland, most of them taking refuge in Cox’s Bazar district, on the border with Bangladesh.
The Gambia filed the lawsuit against Myanmar in November last year with the help of the OIC, Canada and the Netherlands. The ICJ held its first hearing on December 10 and 12. On January 23, the ICJ made a historic unanimous decision to order temporary action to prevent the aftermath of the genocide against the Rohingya in Myanmar.
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