Maldives' decision to join fight for Rohingya "the subject" at diplomatic gathering: British HC

Maldives’ decision file a written declaration of intervention at the International Court of Justice in support of the Rohingya people was “the subject” at a diplomatic gathering at the British High Commission in Bangladesh, on Wednesday night.

UK’s resident High Commissioner to the Maldives, Caron Rohsler, revealed this via Twitter on Thursday morning.

She made the comment in a tweet welcoming back Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid from Geneva, Switzerland, where he attended the 43rd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

While the minister addressed the high-level segment on Tuesday, he formally announced Maldives’ decision to intervene in the case of the Rohingya people, thanking The Gambia for taking initiative on the matter and filing a case of genocide against Myanmar in the ICJ.

The minister also welcomed the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s ruling last month, to implement emergency measures to prevent the genocide of Rohingya.

Rohingya leaders have welcomed Maldives’ decision, with rights activist and co-founder of Free Rohingya Coalition Ro Nay San Lwin tweeting that “Rohingya have been seeking justice since 1978 when genocide against them effectively began. Your action today speaks louder than the countless statements about us which are issued. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts”; Lwin addressed Foreign Minister Shahid in the tweet.

Human rights lawyer, Amal Clooney -who previously represented the country’s former leader Mohamed Nasheed at the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD)- is to represent the Maldives in the case. While she took Nasheed’s case shortly after his conviction and subsequent jail sentence in 2015, she and team successfully secured a UNWGAD decision that his conviction was unlawful; while he was living in exile after being granted medical leave in 2016, he was ultimately freed after the 2018 presidential elections.