December 14, 2019
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) held the third day of oral hearings on the application submitted by The Gambia. State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, in her capacity as the Union Minister for Foreign Affairs appeared as Agent for Myanmar and delivered the closing oral presentation in the afternoon on 12 December 2019 at The Hague, the Netherlands. The Gambia presented its second round of oral presentations earlier in the day.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, on behalf of Myanmar, requested the Court to remove the case from its List; or in the alternative to reject the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by The Gambia.
(The full text of the State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Closing statement is published on Page 6).
At the oral hearings, the counsels and advocates for Myanmar responded to the arguments presented by The Gambia in the morning session. Dr. Christopher Staker responded to the points made by counsel for The Gambia in relation to issues of prima facie jurisdiction and prima facie standing, and the form of the provisional measures requested. Professor William Schabas responded to the remarks made by The Gambia’s counsel about the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission and further argued on the issue of the lack of a plausible claim. State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi followed the counsels and advocates for Myanmar with her closing observations.
Also in attendance at the oral observations were U Kyaw Tint Swe, Union Minister for the Office of the State Counsellor and U Kyaw Tin, the Union Minister for International Cooperation; Myanmar Ambassador to the Kingdoms of Belgium and the Netherlands U Soe Lynn Han; Myanmar delegates; local and foreign legal experts and their assistants.
Today was the second day of oral observations for Myanmar. Myanmar nationals and expatriates residing in the Netherlands and other countries gathered in front of the ICJ and continued to show support for the State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Immediately following the close of the Court proceedings, the State Counsellor met with some (80) of the Myanmar supporters who were scheduled to leave The Hague on the same day. She later met on the 13 December with the rest of the Myanmar nationals and expatriates who came to the Netherlands to show support for her.—MNA
