Argentine Prosecutor Petitions Argentine Court for 25 Arrest Warrants
By Kaila Hall
On June 30, 2024, the Argentine Prosecutor in charge of investigating1 the Rohingya Genocide petitioned2 the Argentinian Court for arrest warrants under Article 294 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Argentina due to allegations of genocide and crimes against humanity. The prosecutor sought warrants for 25 key suspects, including Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief and 2021 military coup leader, and Soe Win, Deputy Commander-in-Chief. Additionally, the prosecutor requested arrest warrants for Aung Kyaw Zaw, Commander of the Bureau of Special Operations No. 3, and Aung San Mya, village Chairman. It is now up to the Argentinian Court to determine whether to grant the arrest warrants.
In 2019, the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) originally brought the Rohingya genocide case against Myanmar to court in Argentina under the universal jurisdiction principle. The Second Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court in Buenos Aires accepted3 the case in November 2021, making it the first universal jurisdiction case to recognize the genocide. BROUK alleges that the aforementioned officials, along with several others, have been committing genocide and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya and other Burmese communities in the Rakhine province of Myanmar since the February 2021 Tatmadaw military coup4 that installed Senior General Min Aung Hlaing as chairman of the State Administration Council.
Upon hearing of the Argentine petition, Tun Khin, President of Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK announced, “Today we are one more step closer to finally seeing the first ever arrest warrants for Min Aung Hlaing and senior members of the Burmese military” and “The decision to request arrest warrants sends a clear message to the Burmese military that they will not be able to escape accountability for their crimes.”
The Argentine petition was filed shortly before the International Court of Justice allowed the intervention of seven states in the Gambia v. Myanmar Rohingya genocide case. On July 3, the ICJ declared5 it admissible for Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark, the French Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the United Kingdom of Great Britain, and Northern Ireland to intervene in the case under Article 63 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Amid the increasing prevalence of universal jurisdiction, Argentina’s decision to prosecute such cases is interesting, considering the country’s extreme debt crisis. Since 2001, Argentina has defaulted on its debt three times- the most recent being May 2020.6 Consequently, the government has implemented a debt restructuring plan. According to the International Monetary Fund, Argentina’s debt constituted 84.47% of its GDP in 2022.7
Kaila Hall is an intern at IELR. She is a rising senior at Cornell University.
[1] Joseph, James. “Argentina Prosecutor Requests Arrest Warrants for Rohingya Genocide Suspects.” Www.jurist.org, 30 June 2024, www.jurist.org/news/2024/06/argentina-prosecutor-requests-arrest-warrants-for-rohingya-genocide-suspects/.
[2] Procuración General de la Nación. “Petición de Delitos de Lesa Humanidad Y Ciertas Infracciones Gravísimas Del Derecho Humanitario.” Ministerio Público Fiscal, 30 June 2024, www.jurist.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/06/photo.jpeg.
[3] BROUK. “Media Release from Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK.” Brouk.org.uk, 2024, www.brouk.org.uk/historic-decision-by-argentinian-courts-to-take-up-genocide-case-against-myanmar/.
[4] Maizland, Lindsay. “Myanmar’s Troubled History: Coups, Military Rule, and Ethnic Conflict.” Council on Foreign Relations, 31 Jan. 2022, www.cfr.org/backgrounder/myanmar-history-coup-military-rule-ethnic-conflict-rohingya.
[5] International Court of Justice. “Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the Gambia v. Myanmar).” ICJ Press Release, 3 July 2024, www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/178/178-20240703-pre-01-00-en.pdf.
[6] European Parliament. “Argentina’s Debt Restructuring and Economy Ahead of the 2023 Elections | Think Tank | European Parliament.” Www.europarl.europa.eu, www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2023)753938.
[7] International Monetary Fund. “Central Government Debt .” International Monetary Fund, 2022, www.imf.org/external/datamapper/CG_DEBT_GDP@GDD/CHN/FRA/DEU/ITA/JPN/GBR/USA.
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