The landscape of international criminal law and regional diplomacy in Southeast Asia underwent a seismic shift in April 2026 after a coalition of Rohingya survivors and prominent Indonesian human rights defenders submitted a criminal file to the Indonesian Attorney General’s Office against Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hliang over alleged genocide of the Rohingya people.

In late January 2026, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concluded its hearings on the merits of the case filed against Myanmar by The Gambia over the mass atrocities committed against the Rohingya ethnic minority in Myanmar. What began as an urgent legal effort focused on provisional measures has gradually evolved into a comprehensive examination of state responsibility under international law, and its implications will have an impact on the lives of Rohingya refugees.

When the Rohingya refugee crisis is discussed internationally, global attention usually centres on Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar camps, which became emblematic of displacement after Myanmar’s 2017 military crackdown. Less visible is the situation unfolding across Southeast Asia. In Thailand, Rohingya refugees and migrants live in prolonged legal uncertainty frequently detained, rarely recognised, and largely absent from formal protection frameworks.

Hearings on the case filed with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Myanmar alleging that atrocities against the Rohingya constitute genocide will begin on 12 January. During the three-week hearings at the ICJ, the parties are expected to present their arguments and supporting evidence about whether Myanmar violated the Genocide Convention. Human rights organizations have said that the hearings highlight the need for justice for the Rohingya.

The disappearance of six Rohingya refugee children from a government-run shelter in Chiang Mai in March 2025 raises concerns about their safety, including the risk of human trafficking, says the human rights organization Fortify Rights, which calls on the Thai government to ensure that all refugee children have access to legal status and human rights-based alternatives to detention.

ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) welcomes the International Criminal Court Prosecutor's arrest warrant request for Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing for crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution of the Rohingya and calls on ASEAN member states, along with the UN and international stakeholders, to take a decisive and public stand in support of the ICC’s investigation and prosecution of Myanmar’s military leadership.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor’s request for an arrest warrant for Myanmar military commander-in-chief, Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, for alleged crimes against humanity is a major step towards justice for the country’s Rohingya population, Human Rights Watch said yesterday (27 November).

After a group of Rohingya refugees were found dead and injured in Thailand's Chumphon province last week, Human Rights Watch demanded that the Thai authorities conduct effective investigations into how this happened and provide survivors with medical care, asylum screening, and assistance.

Although the Rohingya people were initially welcomed to seek asylum in Malaysia, they are now facing discrimination and xenophobia as a climate of uncertainty and anxiety spread through the Malaysian population during the Covid-19 pandemic. Anti-rohingya rhetoric emerged on social media along with some demonstrations by the locals, while the once-supportive government turned against them.

<p>Fortify Rights and 16 individual complainants from Myanmar filed a criminal complaint with the Federal Public Prosecutor General of Germany under the principle of universal jurisdiction against senior Myanmar military generals and others for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, Fortify Rights announced on 24 January.</p>

<p>Over 200 Rohingya refugees from a Bangladesh IDP camp have been left floating in a single boat off the coast of Thailand. Unable to get the boat moving and lacking food and water, 30 people have reportedly died.</p>