The case was filed by Gambia on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. When filing the case, Gambia’s justice minister and attorney general, Abubacarr Marie Tambadou, told The Associated Press he wanted to “send a clear message to Myanmar and to the rest of the international community that the world must not stand by and do nothing in the face of terrible atrocities that are occurring around us. It is a shame for our generation that we do nothing while genocide is unfolding right before our own eyes.”

The head of a U.N. fact-finding mission on Myanmar warned last month that “there is a serious risk of genocide recurring,” and the mission also said in its final report in September that Myanmar should be held responsible in international legal forums for alleged genocide against the Rohingya.

Myanmar has strongly denied carrying out organized human rights abuses. The brief announcement on Wednesday night on the effort “to defend Myanmar’s national interest” did not specify that Gambia’s application to the court involved genocide, but said it was “with regard to the displaced persons from the Rakhine state,” the area from which the Rohingya fled.

It said Myanmar has retained prominent international lawyers to contest the case, and that Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi will lead the team in her capacity as foreign minister. The announcement did not mention a date for the mission to the court, but the court said on Monday that it would hold public hearings on Dec. 10-12.

On Friday, Myanmar’s government rejected the International Criminal Court’s decision to allow prosecutors to open an investigation into crimes committed against the Rohingya Muslim minority. Government spokesman Zaw Htay said Myanmar stood by its position that the Netherlands-based court has no jurisdiction over its actions because Myanmar was not a party to the agreement establishing the court.