The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has welcomed the Maldives’ government’s decision to file a declaration of intervention in support of the Rohingya people, at the International Court of Justice.

The Maldives decision to file a declaration of intervention in support of The Gambia’s case against Myanmar, to seek accountability for the acts of Genocide against the Rohingya people was announced by Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid at the High-level Segment of the ongoing session of the Human Rights Council.

Delivering the organization’s statement during the discussion on Secretary-General’s Oral Update on the Involvement of the United Nations in Myanmar, Pakistan welcomed the decision on behalf of the organization.

The Pakistani delegate stated that the Maldives’ decision adds crucial momentum for the pursuit of justice for the Rohingya people.

The organization considers the plight of Rohingya people to be “one of the most important” issues faced by the Islamic community. As such, during 2018’s OIC Council of Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the decision was reached to establish an Ad-Hoc Ministerial Committee on Accountability for Human Rights Violations Against the Rohingya” with The Gambia as the Chair.

The following year, OIC adopted a unanimous resolution to file a case at the ICJ during the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers meeting held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The resolution focused on restoring the human rights of all Rohingya people. The same year, the Heads of States at OIC endorsed the Final Communique of the Summit giving authority to The Gambia to pursue the case at the ICJ with the focus on restoring basic human rights of Rohingya people and to hold the perpetrators accountable. This was done during the 14th Islamic Summit held in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

The Maldives’ decision to file a declaration was welcomed throughout the Islamic world including 57 Member States of the OIC, it was also applauded by several movements in support of the Rohingya people and groups advocating or their human rights.

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.