Fortify Rights urges UK to lead coalition to transfer Myanmar situation to ICC

Photo – Min Aung Hlaing, head of the military junta, is seen during the annual military parade held in Naypyidaw on March 27, 2026. (AFP) Fortify Rights on June 29 called on the United Kingdom (UK) to lead an international coalition to transfer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC) under Article 14 of the Rome Statute. Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Fortify Rights, also urged the human rights group to impose new targeted sanctions on the Myanmar military junta and increase assistance for refugees and displaced persons, after testifying before the UK House of Commons International Development Committee on June 23. "What the UK can realistically and immediately do to prevent further atrocities in Myanmar is to lead a coalition of ICC member states to transfer the situation in Myanmar to the ICC prosecutor," Smith said, adding that the Myanmar military junta must be blocked from "the funding, weapons, aviation fuel, and impunity that enable them to continue their atrocities." Despite extensive documentation by human rights groups, no one from the Myanmar military junta has yet faced accountability at the ICC or other judicial bodies, the group said. This includes the genocide against the Rohingya and war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against civilians nationwide, which they themselves have documented. Fortify Rights said the UK should rally ICC member states in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region, without waiting for a unanimous decision from the UN Security Council, where Russia and China are shielding the Myanmar military from accountability. According to Fortify Rights, Conservative MP and former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt asked during a House of Commons debate on June 10 whether the government would consider using Article 14 for the ICC to investigate Myanmar. Tom Andrews, former UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, also urged a transfer under Article 14 in his report to the UN Human Rights Council submitted in March 2024, and reiterated this call in his final accountability report dated April 27, 2026. The National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar submitted a declaration in July 2021 accepting the ICC's jurisdiction over crimes committed in Myanmar since 2002, which the ICC confirmed receiving in February 2022. Fortify Rights stated that this declaration provides a good basis for ICC member states to transfer the Myanmar situation to the court, and it is the court's responsibility to determine the legality of that declaration. While the ICC is investigating the forced expulsion of Rohingya to Bangladesh in 2017, it has not yet conducted a comprehensive investigation into atrocities nationwide. Separately, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is hearing the genocide case filed by The Gambia against Myanmar, in which the UK has also intervened and supported The Gambia. Fortify Rights called on the UK to join the European Union, the United States, Canada, and Australia in imposing new targeted sanctions on military-linked businesses, including junta-controlled state-owned banks, aviation fuel and arms suppliers, and telecommunications and natural resource companies. The UK has been urged to push for a global arms embargo and a ban on aviation fuel deliveries to the military in the Security Council, regardless of whether Russia or China can use their veto power. It was noted that the UK's Myanmar policy should also address human rights violations by non-state armed groups, as Rohingya civilians in Rakhine State face movement restrictions, denial of humanitarian assistance, arbitrary arrests, and attacks from the Arakan Army (AA) in addition to the Myanmar military. Regarding humanitarian assistance, Fortify Rights stated that recent cuts to aid for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have exacerbated food shortages, malnutrition, and the risks of human trafficking, as well as dangerous sea journeys, forcing them to consider returning to Myanmar unsafely. "Humanitarian assistance for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh is a protection against atrocities," Smith testified. The UK has been urged to publicly oppose forced or unsafe repatriations and to increase funding for human rights defenders and documentation groups supporting accountability mechanisms, including the ICC and the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM). Fortify Rights has reported that Myanmar, which is experiencing the world's longest-running civil war, currently has approximately 3.7 million internally displaced persons and a total of approximately 5.3 million displaced persons. Editor: Naung Naung