No Red Carpet for Myanmar Junta Leader Min Aung Hlaing, Enforce Any ICC Arrest Warrant - Fortify Rights

 

(BANGKOK, September 9, 2026)—The Government of Cambodia should not provide Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing with an official state welcome and should fully comply with its obligations as a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), including executing any lawful ICC request for his arrest and surrender, Fortify Rights said today. Cambodia should cancel the official visit unless it is prepared to meet those obligations. Min Aung Hlaing is scheduled to visit Cambodia from September 11 to 12, 2026, as part of an expanding campaign by Myanmar’s military junta to normalize diplomatic relations and secure international legitimacy. As a state party to the ICC, Cambodia has binding obligations to cooperate with the Court. In November 2024, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber received an application by the ICC Prosecutor for an arrest warrant against Min Aung Hlaing for crimes against humanity committed against ethnic-Rohingya people. It is unknown if the Court issued an arrest warrant under seal or if it is still considering the application. “Cambodia should offer Min Aung Hlaing accountability, not a red carpet,” said Winter Berry, Communications Specialist at Fortify Rights. “If the ICC has issued a warrant and requested Cambodia’s cooperation, Cambodian authorities should arrest him and surrender him to the Court. If Cambodia is unwilling to fulfill its international obligations, it should cancel the state visit rather than provide legitimacy to a man responsible for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.” On August 18, 2026, the Cambodian Senate announced that Min Aung Hlaing would pay an official state visit to Cambodia in early September to "strengthen the friendship between Cambodia and Myanmar." According to media reports, the visit will be from September 11 to 12, 2026. The planned visit comes amid an intensifying campaign by Min Aung Hlaing and his junta to break their international isolation and pariah status. Earlier this month, Vietnam hosted Min Aung Hlaing for a state visit, which included meetings with senior leaders and a business forum. In August, Thailand and Russia both welcomed him for talks. Cambodia would become the latest ASEAN member to publicly engage Min Aung Hlaing at the highest level.   Following widely condemned sham elections in Myanmar in December 2025 and January 2026, Min Aung Hlaing appointed himself “President” in April 2026. The elections were conducted amid widespread repression, armed conflict, atrocities, and the exclusion of major political opponents, many of whom were killed or remain in arbitrary detention. Governments, including the United Kingdom, European Union member states, Canada, and Australia, rejected the legitimacy of the elections. Despite this, in recent months, India, China, Laos, and Belarus have also hosted Min Aung Hlaing as his regime seeks deeper economic and diplomatic ties. Importantly, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) did not recognize the elections as legitimate.   Min Aung Hlaing’s diplomatic-normalization campaign is taking place while his military forces continue to commit widespread attacks against civilians. A recent investigation by Fortify Rights exposed alleged war crimes in Tanintharyi Region, where the Myanmar military conducted brutal military operations in and around the Dawei Special Economic Zone, including the targeted killings of civilians and humanitarian workers. The attacks intensified soon after the junta signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Russia to revive the Dawei project. Any governments or private companies maintaining business relationships with the military junta risk complicity in atrocities as well as potential legal liability, said Fortify Rights. Since the coup in February 2021, under Min Aung Hlaing’s command, the military has conducted near-daily airstrikes using fighter jets, drones, and paramotors, often to attack civilian populations and bomb displacement camps, schools, hospitals, and religious sites. According to the United Nations, nearly 3.8 million people have been displaced in the country, tens of thousands of political prisoners remain detained, and an estimated 100,000 people have been killed in conflict-related violence in Myanmar since the coup. Cambodia’s decision to host Min Aung Hlaing carries special significance because it is one of only two ASEAN member states—along with Timor-Leste—that are parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC. Fortify Rights has urged Timor-Leste to formally request that the ICC investigate crimes committed throughout Myanmar, through an Article 14 referral, which could expand the Court’s ability to pursue those responsible.   On November 27, 2024, then-ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan formally filed an application for an arrest warrant for Min Aung Hlaing for the crimes against humanity of forced deportation and persecution of the Rohingya committed in Myanmar and, in part, in Bangladesh. The Office of the Prosecutor said it had reasonable grounds to believe that Min Aung Hlaing bears criminal responsibility for those crimes. There are currently no legal mechanisms with prosecutorial authority investigating the junta’s crimes beyond those against the Rohingya.   Under Article 86 of the Rome Statute, Cambodia is obligated to cooperate fully with the ICC. Under Article 89, States Parties must comply with Court requests for the arrest and surrender of persons sought by the ICC. The Rome Statute also provides for cooperation requests and supporting documents to remain confidential when necessary.   Fortify Rights is unaware of any public decision by the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber on the Prosecutor’s application against Min Aung Hlaing. If the Court has issued an arrest warrant confidentially and transmitted a request for cooperation to Cambodia, Cambodian authorities should execute that request in accordance with the Rome Statute and Cambodian law. Cambodia should not disclose confidential information in a manner that would enable Min Aung Hlaing to evade justice. Min Aung Hlaing’s assumption of the title of “President” should not be treated by Cambodia as a basis for disregarding its ICC obligations. The ICC Appeals Chamber has previously held that head-of-state status did not excuse an ICC State Party from executing the Court’s request to arrest and surrender a person sought by the Court.   Furthermore, in February 2025, an Argentine federal court issued an arrest warrant for Min Aung Hlaing under the principle of universal jurisdiction for genocide committed against the Rohingya, in a case brought by Tun Khin and the Burmese Rohingya Organization UK and Argentine human rights lawyer Tomás Ojea Quintana, who also sits on the Leadership Council of Fortify Rights. The Argentine warrant adds to growing international efforts to hold Myanmar military leaders criminally accountable. "Devastating horrors of genocide and brutal mass atrocities are past scars that Cambodia understands well. For the people of Myanmar, it is still today’s reality," said Winter Berry. "This is not just a matter of diplomacy. It is also about how Cambodia chooses to treat perpetrators of grave international crimes. There should be no business-as-usual state visit for Min Aung Hlaing. Cambodia should uphold international justice and comply fully with any request from the ICC." Share Tweet

For more information, please contact: Winter Berry, Communications Specialist, Fortify Rights Languages: English, Burmese +1 551 309 0186 (Signal) Email: Winter.Berry@FortifyRights.org X: @itsmawinter, @FortifyRights Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer, Fortify Rights Languages: English +66 85 028 0044 (Signal; WhatsApp) +1 202 503 8032 (U.S.) Email: Matthew.Smith@FortifyRights.org