ICC-01/19-7 04-07-2019 1/146 RH PT Cour Penale (/\Tl\) _ni _t_e__r an _t_oi _n_a_l_e �i��------------------ ----- International �� �d? Crimi nal Court Original: English No.: ICC-01/19 Date: 4 July 2019 PRE-TRIAL CHAMBER III Before: Judge Olga Herrera Carbuccia, Presiding Judge Judge Robert Fremr Judge Geoffrey Henderson SITUATION IN THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF BANGLADESH / REPUBLIC OF THE UNION OF MYANMAR PUBLIC With Confidential EX PARTE Annexes 1, 5, 7 and 8, and Public Annexes 2, 3, 4, 6, 9 and 10 Request for authorisation of an investigation pursuant to article 15 Source: Office of the Prosecutor ICC-01/19-7 04-07-2019 2/146 RH PT Document to be notified in accordance with regulation 31 of the Regulations of the Court to: The Office of the Prosecutor Counsel for the Defence Ms Fatou Bensouda Mr James Stewart Legal Representatives of the Victims Legal Representatives of the Applicants Unrepresented Victims Unrepresented Applicants (Participation/Reparation) The Office of Public Counsel for The Office of Public Counsel for the Victims Defence States’ Representatives Amicus Curiae REGISTRY Registrar Counsel Support Section Mr Peter Lewis Victims and Witnesses Unit Detention Section Victims Participation and Reparations Other Section Mr Philipp Ambach No. ICC-01/19 2/146 4 July 2019 ICC-01/19-7 04-07-2019 3/146 RH PT CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 5 II. LEVEL OF CONFIDENTIALITY AND REQUESTED PROCEDURE .................... 8 III. PROCEDURAL HISTORY ............................................................................................. 8 IV. OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................... 11 A. OVERVIEW OF SCOPE OF REQUESTED INVESTIGATION .................................................... 11 B. EXAMINATION OF THE AVAILABLE INFORMATION ......................................................... 14 C. ACTIVITIES OF THE OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTOR ........................................................... 17 D. REASONABLE BASIS TO PROCEED .................................................................................... 17 V. CONTEXT ......................................................................................................................... 18 A. GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION AND ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF MYANMAR AND RAKHINE STATE ............................................................................................................................. 18 B. MYANMAR’S POLITICAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT ............................................ 20 C. CONTEXT OF DISCRIMINATION AND VIOLENCE AGAINST THE ROHINGYA IN MYANMAR ..................................................................................................................... 22 1. Discrimination, human rights violations and hostility against the Rohingya . 22 (a) Legal status and identity .................................................................................... 22 (b) Restrictions against Rohingya ........................................................................... 26 2. Waves of violence against the Rohingya and rising incidence of hate speech 27 (a) Waves of violence over decades ........................................................................ 27 (b) Context of rising Buddhist nationalism and incidence of hate speech ........ 30 3. Recent waves of violence and attacks by ARSA ................................................... 32 (a) Formation of ARSA and attacks on security posts in Rakhine State ........... 32 (b) 2016 wave of violence ......................................................................................... 35 (c) 2017 wave of violence .......................................................................................... 36 4. The suffering of displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh and failed agreements to repatriate them ........................................................................................................ 36 VI. JURISDICTION ............................................................................................................. 39 A. ALLEGED CRIMES WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE COURT COMMITTED IN THE CONTEXT OF THE 2017 WAVE OF VIOLENCE .................................................................. 40 1. Places of alleged commission of the crimes ........................................................... 41 2. Time period of alleged commission of the crimes ................................................ 41 3. Persons or groups involved ..................................................................................... 42 4. Allegations of additional crimes committed in the context of the 2016 wave of violence falling within the jurisdiction of the Court. .................................... 43 B. LEGAL CHARACTERISATION OF THE CRIMES FALLING WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE COURT .................................................................................................................... 44 No. ICC-01/19 3/146 4 July 2019 ICC-01/19-7 04-07-2019 4/146 RH PT 1. Deportation ................................................................................................................ 44 (a) The coercive acts that forcibly displaced the Rohingya ................................. 46 (b) The Rohingya had no genuine choice but to flee to Bangladesh .................. 56 (c) These displacements were impermissible under international law ............. 60 (d) The Rohingya were lawfully present on the territory of Myanmar ............ 61 2. Other inhumane acts ................................................................................................. 62 (a) The legal basis for the violation of the right to return as an other inhumane act under article 7(1) ........................................................................ 64 (b) The factual basis underlying violation of recently displaced Rohingya persons’ right to return as an other inhumane act under article 7(1) ......... 73 3. Persecution on grounds of ethnicity and/or religion ........................................... 88 4. Contextual elements of crimes against humanity ................................................ 93 (a) Attack directed against any civilian population ............................................. 93 (b) State or organisational policy ............................................................................ 95 (c) Widespread and systematic nature of the attack .......................................... 100 (d) Nexus between the identified crimes and the attack ................................... 103 5. Contextual elements of crimes against humanity in the context of the 2016 wave of violence.................................................................................................... 104 (a) Attack directed against any civilian population ........................................... 104 (b) State or organisational policy .......................................................................... 105 (c) Widespread and systematic nature of the attack .......................................... 107 (d) Nexus between deportation and persecution based on deportation and the attack ............................................................................................................ 107 VII. ADMISSIBILITY ........................................................................................................ 108 A. COMPLEMENTARITY ...................................................................................................... 109 1. Position of the Government of Myanmar on International Criminal Court proceedings and complementarity .................................................................... 110 2. Relevant national proceedings in Myanmar ....................................................... 112 (a) Investigation by the Tatmadaw and subsequent prosecution, and formation of military investigation court ...................................................... 113 (b) The Independent Commission of Enquiry (“ICOE”) ................................... 122 3. Limited domestic accountability prospects ......................................................... 138 4. National proceedings in third States .................................................................... 140 B. GRAVITY ......................................................................................................................... 140 VIII. INTERESTS OF JUSTICE ....................................................................................... 144 IX. RELIEF REQUESTED .................................................................................................. 146 No. ICC-01/19 4/146 4 July 2019 ICC-01/19-7 04-07-2019 5/146 RH PT I. INTRODUCTION 1. The Prosecution hereby requests, pursuant to article 15(3) of the Rome Statute (“Statute”), authorisation from the Pre-Trial Chamber (“Chamber”) to proceed with an investigation into the situation in the People’s Republic of Bangladesh/Republic of the Union of Myanmar (“Situation in Bangladesh/Myanmar”) in the period since 9 October 2016. Specifically, the Prosecution seeks authorisation to investigate crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court in which at least one element occurred on the territory of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh (“Bangladesh”), and which occurred within the context of two waves of violence in Rakhine State on the territory of the Republic of the