The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has asked judges to issue an arrest warrant for Myanmar’s military leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, over crimes against the Rohingya Muslim minority. These crimes include deportation and persecution.

Min Aung Hlaing came to power in 2021 through a coup that removed the elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. The charges are linked to the forced displacement of nearly a million Rohingya people, who fled to Bangladesh to escape a campaign of violence, including mass killings, rapes, and the burning of homes, which has been described as ethnic cleansing. Karim Khan, the court's senior prosecutor, said in a statement from a Bangladeshi refugee camp that he plans to soon seek further warrants for Myanmar's leaders.

“In doing so, we will be demonstrating, together with all of our partners, that the Rohingya have not been forgotten. That they, like all people around the world, are entitled to the protection of the law,” the British lawyer said. The allegations are about a counterinsurgency operation that Myanmar's military launched in August 2017 after an attack by insurgents. Hlaing, the leader of Myanmar’s Defense Services, is accused of ordering the military and police to attack Rohingya civilians. Khan was in Bangladesh, where he met with members of the Rohingya community who had been displaced.

In contrast to Bangladesh, Myanmar is not a member of the global court. The prosecutor may investigate offenses that were "completed" on a member state's territory, like expulsion by force, according to a 2018 court ruling. In 2019, Fatou Bensouda, who was the International Criminal Court's prosecutor before Khan, asked for permission to investigate the situation. The judges approved the request, allowing investigations into any crimes related to the Rohingya, including any future crimes, that occurred in Bangladesh or another country that is part of the court. This decision enabled Khan to look into crimes beyond just the forced displacement of people into refugee camps.

A few days ago, a powerful rebel group took control of a key trading town in northeastern Myanmar, located on the Chinese border. This group also seized a profitable rare earth mining area, which is another blow to Myanmar's military-led government. The military took power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in February 2021, leading to more fighting with long-standing armed militias from Myanmar’s ethnic minority groups, who have been fighting for more autonomy in the border regions for decades. In 2022, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations’ highest court, moved forward with a case filed by Gambia accusing Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya people. Five European countries and Canada have supported Gambia’s case in the court.