Philippe Sands represents Gambia in genocide case against Myanmar at The Hague

Philippe Sands, a leading human rights lawyer, is representing Gambia in a genocide claim against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The trial opened last week and is scheduled to run through the end of the month; if Gambia prevails, it would be the first time a state has been held responsible for genocide.

Sands, 65, has been involved in landmark international cases, including work for Croatia in its claim against Serbia, efforts that helped lay the groundwork for the prosecution of Charles Taylor, participation in attempts to hold Augusto Pinochet accountable, and service as lead outside counsel in the campaign to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

He is also an acclaimed nonfiction author whose books include East West Street and 38 Londres Street, and he has warned of a perceived erosion of the postwar rules-based order, citing a U.S. administration he said feels unconstrained by existing laws and norms. The case centers on a late-2016 crackdown on Myanmar’s Rohingya population; United Nations investigators documented what the article describes as widespread human rights violations, and it is believed that thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands fled.

Gambia filed its claim in 2019.

Key Topics

World, Philippe Sands, Gambia, Myanmar, Rohingya, Icj