SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: SOUTHEAST ASIA Within Southeast Asia, Myanmar has the largest reported stateless population (and the second highest in the Asia Pacific), reporting 630,000 stateless persons to UNHCR in 2022. citizenship in Myanmar, they have been systematically excluded from citizenship in their home country.2864 Since the military coup in February 2021, Rohingya populations in Myanmar have continued to face persecution, insecurity and restrictions on freedoms.2865 In 2017, the brutal ‘clearance operations’ conducted by the military, which constitute genocide, involved “arbitrary arrests and torture, indiscriminate killings, mass gang-rape of women, enforced disappearances, forced labour, and the destruction by fire of entire villages”.2866 In the ‘clearance operations’, upwards of 40,000 structures, including over 200 Rohingya settlements, were completely destroyed in just two years.2867 Despite the denial of the Myanmar government of such crimes, they have been well documented.2868 The government does not allow any monitoring or access by humanitarian aid or human rights organizations.2869 While many have fled to neighboring countries, such as Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, India, and Pakistan, and beyond in search of refuge from persecution2870, those who remained after the 2017 ‘clearance operations’ are subject to apartheid conditions.2871 The Rakhine State, where much of the Rohingya population in Myanmar reside, is subject to severe restrictions of freedom of movement, which is largely targeted at Rohingyas.2872 Often Rohingyas, including Rohingya children, are arrested while traveling anywhere within and outside of the country.2873 The movement restrictions are so severe that Rohingyas in internment camps are unable to leave the camps.2874 If they attempt to do so, they are likely to be apprehended and subject to abuse by military or police at the many checkpoints in the area.2875 The only way to access health services for those living in camps is to apply for permission 252 SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: SOUTHEAST ASIA to leave the camps, which entails a security escort to the hospital where Rohingyas are segregated from others in the hospital and closely monitored.2876 For grave or complex illnesses, it is unlikely that an individual would be able to get to the hospital in time to save their life.2877 Further, internet blackouts were imposed on townships in Rakhine and Chin States, which affected more than one million people in 20192878 just before the COVID-19 pandemic began, barring them from accessing life-saving information about the virus. The Rohingyas have notably not been included in consultations for an MoU between UNHCR and UNDP with the Myanmar government.2879 Rohingya leaders shared a statement in 2019 regarding the lack of proper consultation: “As the victims of these crimes, our demand is for justice and accountability, and the right to return to our country to live in security and dignity, as equal citizens. The international community must hear our voices and do everything in its power to uphold international law and bring the perpetrators to justice. Please include us in these processes, which are ultimately about us. We are available to be consulted and to share our perspectives, experiences and solutions with you.”2880 Persons at risk of statelessness Any group or individual who does not match the 135 included ethnic groups in Myanmar’s citizenship legislation is at risk of statelessness.2881 This includes, but may not be limited to, Rohingya, individuals of ‘Nepali’ or ‘Indian’ descent, Tamils, Hindu speakers of Bengali-dialects, groups at the Myanmar border, minority groups of Rakhine State, and Muslim and Hindu communities.2882 People born to parents of different or mixed religions or ethnicities are also at risk due to exclusion within Myanmar’s citizenship legislation.2883 IDPs and refouled refugees, largely from Bangladesh and Thailand, have also been identified to be at risk.2884 Children born to refugee parents in Thailand are also at risk of statelessness as Myanmar does not recognize birth certificates issued by Thai authorities to refugee children.2885 STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC (DETAILED VERSION) Stateless Refugees It is important to note that stateless Rohingyas account for the largest stateless population in the world.2886 The majority of stateless Rohingya refugees reside in neighbouring Bangladesh, which in 2022 was reported to host over 900,0002887 of the 1.2 million stateless Rohingyas.2888 This number is contradicted by other statistics reporting 2.5 million stateless Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar, with over 2 million reported among the top four receiving countries alone2889 – Bangladesh (952,3092890), Pakistan (400,000-500,0002891), Saudi Arabia (558,0002892) and Malaysia (103,3802893). However, this number is expected to be even higher as Rohingya refugees in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are often not counted due to the fact that they are not registered with the UNHCR or the UNHCR has no clear data on them. Undetermined nationalities The true figure of statelessness in Myanmar likely extends beyond the reported figure and encompasses other ethnic minority groups excluded from the 1982 citizenship law. A 2014 Census showed that over 11 million people in Myanmar did not have valid identification documents.2894 The US Department of State noted that a ‘significant number’ of persons of Chinese, Indian and Nepali descent living within Myanmar were either stateless or of undetermined nationality, facing restrictions on their freedom of movement and rights.2895 Causes of Statelessness Discriminatory nationality laws Ethnic discrimination in nationality law, leading to the denial of citizenship to Rohingya populations has been the key cause of statelessness in Myanmar. Ethnic discrimination within Myanmar citizenship law was codified in the 1982 Citizenship Law which This number is contradicted by other statistics reporting 2.5 million stateless Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar, with over 2 million reported among the top four receiving countries alone – Bangladesh (952,309), Pakistan (400,000-500,000), Saudi Arabia (558,000) and Malaysia (103,380). limited citizenship to certain ‘national races’ (which did not include the Rohingya).2896 Denial of citizenship of the Rohingya was a key component of the systemic oppression and persecution of the Rohingya people by the government and military of Myanmar before the 2017 ‘clearance operations’.2897 The Rohingya are not the only victims of this discriminatory nationality law as any group not included on the list of 135 ethnic groups is denied the right to citizenship.2898 Decision making for granting citizenship does not have a time limit or mechanism for review or appeal.2899 The lack of avenues for redress have led to “arbitrariness, corruption and bribery to speed up decisions or secure a positive outcome”.2900 Lack of legal safeguards against childhood statelessness The citizenship law of Myanmar does not provide any right to nationality for foundling children or children born to stateless parents.2901 This lack of legal safeguards further cement intergenerational statelessness within the country.2902 Citizenship stripping Myanmar’s citizenship legislation includes vague, overarching provisions allowing for the revocation of citizenship.2903 An associate or a naturalized citizen’s citizenship may be stripped under the broad grounds of being “in the interest of the State”.2904 This provision has also been used to strip citizenship of opposition and resistance politicians in recent years.2905 Many Rohingya are referred to as naturalized citizens on citizenship applications, essentially denying them full citizenship rights.2906 There are no legislative protections for those who have their citizenship revoked from becoming REPORT 2024 253