‘If Everything Is Genocide, Nothing Is Genocide’: The Construction of Impunity for the Rohingya Genocide Within International Law

This chapter analyses the crime of genocide committed against the Rohingya, an ethnic minority in Myanmar, through legal (and political) lenses to assess international accountability and the construction of impunity. Following the decades of systemic persecution, escalating to large-scale violence in 2017, the Rohingya were forced to flee to Bangladesh. In response, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is currently considering The Gambia’s 2019 case under the Genocide Convention, while the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor is investigating forced deportation and related crimes against humanity within the Court’s limited jurisdiction. Despite these efforts, certain gaps remain. For instance, the ICJ does not assign individual criminal responsibility, the ICC’s jurisdiction is constrained, and geopolitical dynamics, particularly the UN Security Council deadlock, hinder enforcement. This chapter analyses current empirical studies and human rights reports to demonstrate the patterns of atrocities that reveal the actions and intentions underlying the perpetration of genocide against the Rohingya. It primarily argues that impunity persists because genocide’s legal exceptionalism both elevates the crime and enables strategic denial shaped by political interests.