KUALA LUMPUR - The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will hear a historic case accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against the Rohingya minority on Monday.

It is the first full genocide case at the ICJ in more than ten years and could set important legal precedents for other cases, including South Africa’s genocide claim against Israel over Gaza.

Myanmar has denied all allegations of genocide.

Head of the UN’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, Nicholas Koumjian said the upcoming trial at the ICJ could have far-reaching implications for international law on genocide.

“The case is likely to set critical precedents for how genocide is defined and how it can be proven, and how violations can be remedied,” said Nicholas.

Gambia, a predominantly Muslim country in West Africa, filed the case at the ICJ in 2019, accusing Myanmar of targeting Rohingya Muslims in the western Rakhine state.

In 2017, Myanmar’s military launched an offensive that forced at least 730,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh, where survivors reported killings, mass rape, and arson.

A UN fact-finding mission said the 2017 military actions included genocidal acts.

Myanmar rejected the report, calling the military offensive a legitimate counter-terrorism operation in response to attacks by Muslim militants.

During preliminary ICJ hearings in 2019, Myanmar’s then leader Aung San Suu Kyi called Gambia’s genocide allegations 'incomplete and misleading.'

The upcoming hearings will be the first time Rohingya victims of the alleged atrocities will be heard by an international court, though sessions will be closed to the public and media to protect their privacy.

The hearings are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. local time (9 a.m. GMT) on Monday and will last for three weeks.

Myanmar has faced ongoing turmoil since 2021 when the military overthrew the civilian government and violently suppressed pro-democracy protests, triggering an armed rebellion.

The country is currently holding phased elections, which the United Nations, some Western countries, and human rights groups have criticised as not free or fair.