Fifty-seven nations across the globe have sued Myanmar for alleged genocide against its Rohingya minority.
According to reports, the law suits are being filed at at the International Court of Justice.
The suit comes just weeks after the United Nations warned that the violent campaign against the Rohingya is continuing in northwest Myanmar.
Its special envoy called for the U N Security Council to refer Myanmar’s senior officials to the International Criminal Court, a separate international body.
Over 700,000 Rohingya, a Muslim-majority ethnic minority, have fled Myanmar since a campaign by the country’s military to push them out and raze their villages began in August 2017.
The Gambia, a small West African country, filed the lawsuit Monday on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a coalition of countries with significant Muslim populations.
It asked the International Court of Justice to investigate whether Myanmar’s government has violated the Geneva Convention, which prohibits genocide.
While this new lawsuit would hold Myanmar as a state responsible for the alleged genocide of Rohingya, a separate ICC investigation already is underway.
In July, the ICC chief prosecutor requested that the global body authorize an investigation into possible war crimes by Myanmar senior military and civilian officials, after the prosecutor’s office’s preliminary investigation said it had determined their actions met the legal conditions necessary.