Myanmar citizens urge DOJ to resolve appeal on war crimes complaint

Citizens of Myanmar from Chin State on Wednesday asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to reconsider its decision to deny their complaint for war crimes filed against some members of the Myanmar military in October 2023.

Atty. Romel Bagares, the legal counsel of the complainants, said the DOJ returned their complaint in February 2024 with a letter explaining that the department cannot take cognizance of the complaint due to lack of jurisdiction.

“That’s what we are invoking here, what we call mandatory universal jurisdiction. What we’re just asking for is that the DOJ actually initiate investigation because that is the obligation of any government under international law,” Bagares said in a briefing.

According to Bagares, the complainants became hopeful following the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte in March. The former president was shortly flown to The Hague, Netherlands to face charges of crimes against humanity.

“That signifies an openness on the part of the Philippine government to actually advance international justice,” Bagares said.

The complaint, filed against 10 officers of the military, is for violations of Republic Act 9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.

In their 15-page motion to resolve, the complainants asked the DOJ to reverse and set aside its letter, to docket their complaint, perform all the steps in the preliminary investigation, and find probable cause against the respondents.

The complainants said the Supreme Court has also recognized that all the serious international crimes cognizable by the ICC are subject to mandatory universal jurisdiction.

“States have a legal obligation to investigate and prosecute the aforementioned crimes with or without membership in the ICC, and if they are not able or willing, to extradite the suspect or accused to a willing third party,” the pleading read.

When asked if they were eyeing to file their complaint elsewhere, Bagares said that his clients could only file the complaint in the Philippines among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

“Kaya po kami nandito kasi sa amin pong pag aaral, sa ASEAN po, tayo lang po ang may ganong klaseng legal framework. Kaya po mahalaga po ‘yung papel na ginagampanan ng Pilipinas,” he said.

(We are here because, based on our study, in the ASEAN region, we are the only one with that kind of legal framework. That’s why the role the Philippines plays is very important.)

He also said that Myanmar is not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“The challenge there is that, number one, Myanmar is not a state party, never been a state party. Of course, right now, the Philippines is not a state party to the Rome Statute,” Bagares said. –NB, GMA Integrated News