[ti:ICJ: Myanmar Must Protect Rohingya from Genocide] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The International Court of Justice on Thursday ordered Myanmar [00:06.04]to take urgent measures to protect its Rohingya population from genocide. [00:13.80]Rohingya refugees celebrated the ruling as their first major legal victory since being forced from their homes. [00:24.52]The African nation of The Gambia launched legal action against Myanmar in November. [00:31.56]Its lawsuit accuses Myanmar of genocide against Rohingya in violation of a 1948 convention. [00:42.68]The court's final decision could take years. [00:46.60]Thursday's ruling dealt only with The Gambia's request for early measures. [00:53.92]But in a ruling agreed to by all of the judges involved, [00:59.36]the court said the Rohingya face a continued threat and Myanmar must act to protect them. [01:08.68]The lead judge on the case said Myanmar must "take all measures within its power [01:16.04]to prevent all acts" barred under the 1948 Genocide Convention. [01:23.76]The country also must report back on its efforts within four months, he said. [01:30.76]Myanmar must use its influence over its military and other armed groups to prevent violence [01:39.76]against the Rohingya meant to "bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part." [01:47.56]Rohingya activists had come from all over the world to The Hague. [01:53.04]They reacted happily to the ruling, which also fully recognized their ethnic minority [02:00.60]as a protected group under the Genocide Convention. [02:06.16]Yasmin Ullah is a Canada-based Rohingya activist. [02:11.52]She said of the ruling, "That is something we have been fighting for a long time: [02:18.16]to be recognized as humans the same as everyone else." [02:24.00]Myanmar, which has a large Buddhist population, [02:28.04]generally refuses to recognize the Muslim Rohingya as an ethnic group. [02:34.04]Instead, it describes them as Bangladeshi migrants. [02:39.56]More than 730,000 Rohingya left Myanmar after a military-led campaign against them in 2017. [02:50.88]They were forced into crowded, dirty camps across the border in Bangladesh. [02:57.76]U.N. investigators found that the military campaign had been carried out for "genocidal" reasons. [03:06.56]From the camps in Bangladesh where they have fled, [03:10.60]Rohingya refugees watched the judgment on their mobile phones. [03:16.56]"For the first time, we have got some justice," said Mohammed Nur, a 34-year-old refugee. [03:24.24]"This is a big achievement for the entire Rohingya community." [03:30.76]Rohingya still living inside Myanmar and reached by phone [03:36.32]said they hoped the ruling would force the country to improve their situation. [03:43.16]"We need protection," said Tin Aung, a Rohingya leader living in Myanmar's Rakhine state. [03:51.24]A Myanmar government spokesman and two military spokesmen [03:56.20]did not answer calls from Reuters reporters seeking comment. [04:02.08]The Gambia's justice minister, Abubacarr Tambadou, [04:06.24]called the ruling "a triumph for international justice." [04:12.08]The Gambia has a mainly Muslim population. [04:16.32]It brought the case on the argument that all nations [04:20.56]have a universal legal responsibility to prevent genocide. [04:26.88]The case was argued last month by some of the world's top human rights lawyers. [04:34.08]Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi [04:37.96]attended hearings at The Hague to ask judges to dismiss the case. [04:44.32]Shortly before the court began reading its ruling, [04:48.40]the Financial Times published an article by Suu Kyi. [04:52.40]She wrote that some war crimes may have been carried out against Rohingya Muslims [04:59.08]but that refugees had exaggerated abuses. [05:03.96]Myanmar will now have to report on its efforts to protect the Rohingya from genocide [05:09.92]every six months until a final ruling in the case. [05:15.24]Although ICJ rulings are final and binding, countries have sometimes ignore them. [05:23.32]The court has no official way to enforce its rulings. [05:29.56]I'm Caty Weaver. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM