Does Facebook hold the key to the Rohingya genocide?

Does Facebook hold the key to bringing the perpetrators of the Rohingya genocide to justice? Four in ten people in Burma use Facebook. Among them was the omnipotent commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces Min Aung Hlaing, before he was banned from using the platform in 2018.

Now Gambia, backed by the Organisation of Islamic Countries, has initiated court proceedings in the United States to compel Facebook to release data on ‘suspended or terminated’ accounts of General Min and other of Burma’s military top-brass. They hope this will yield vital evidence that can be used in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague to prove that Burma is guilty of horrific crimes against the Rohingyas. This month, Britain imposed sanctions on two high-ranking Burmese generals, who were allegedly ‘Involved in the systematic and brutal violence against the Rohingya people.’

The nature of the deadly crackdown in Burma has made obtaining evidence a difficult task.