Myanmar revokes Rohingya citizenship, sparking expulsions and ICJ genocide case

Myanmar’s 1982 Citizenship Law, amended in 2015, formally excluded the Rohingya—a predominantly Muslim community in Rakhine State—from the nation’s legal definition of citizenship. The legislation required proof of residence before 1948 and a series of other onerous criteria that the Rohingya could not satisfy, rendering them effectively stateless. In 2017, a military crackdown on alleged insurgent activity triggered a humanitarian crisis, with over 700,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh and other neighboring countries. The mass expulsions were accompanied by widespread reports of violence, forced displacement, and systematic denial of basic rights, prompting international condemnation and calls for accountability.

In response to these events, Bangladesh filed a genocide case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2017, alleging that the state’s actions constituted genocide under the Genocide Convention. The ICJ dismissed the case in 2023 on jurisdictional grounds, but the proceedings highlighted the international community’s scrutiny of Myanmar’s citizenship policies and human rights record. The stripping of citizenship has left millions of Rohingya stateless, fueling continued displacement and drawing sustained attention from global legal and humanitarian bodies.