Myanmar says ICC Rohingya jurisdiction request ‘should be dismissed’

Myanmar said on Thursday that a request by the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor to seek jurisdiction over suspected deportations of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar to Bangladesh was “meritless and should be dismissed.” The office of government leader Aung San Suu Kyi outlined reasons why Myanmar has declined to engage with the court. “The request by the prosecutor may be interpreted as an indirect attempt to acquire jurisdiction over Myanmar which is not a state party to the Rome statute,” the office said, referring to the ICC’s founding treaty. The jurisdiction of the world’s war crimes court is limited to crimes committed on the territory of member states, or in cases referred to it by the UN Security Council. However, ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has asked the court to look into the Rohingya crisis, Reuters said.