Saadet Gokce
02 April 2025•Update: 02 April 2025
ISTANBUL
Five refugees from Myanmar's Chin state filed a motion with the Justice Department on Wednesday, charging junta chief Min Aung Hlaing and nine other military officials with crimes against humanity, citing former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the same alleged crimes.
The refugees’ previous motion filed in 2023 was denied by the Filipino Department of Justice in 2024 because the case had no connection to the Philippines, according to the local daily Philstar.
In their complaint, the refugees accused the junta of war crimes in Chin state, citing the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law.
The refugees requested the Justice Department to reconsider their plea and argued in the motion that Duterte's arrest and trial demonstrate that the archipelago "recognizes the demands of international justice."
"Recent developments have shown that the Philippines recognizes the demands of international justice, with its national authorities' decision... to arrest and surrender a former president of the Philippines to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court," it stated.
According to Chin refugees, the principle of "mandatory universal jurisdiction" requires Manila to investigate serious international crimes regardless of where they occurred or which nationals are involved.
Myanmar has been embroiled in widespread conflict since the 2021 coup, with the junta fighting armed ethnic groups and pro-democracy forces, including the People's Defense Force, the National Unity Government's military arm.
In a related development, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber I has ordered the prosecution and the defense teams of Duterte to share their evidence by Friday, according to the daily Inquirer.
