SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: SOUTHEAST ASIA SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: SOUTHEAST ASIA Dual citizenship The Committee was also concerned that ethnicity and religion are marked on identity cards, exposing minority populations to discrimination. Dual citizenship is not permitted in Myanmar. Foreign citizens applying for naturalization must renounce prior citizenship upon acceptance to citizenship of Myanmar.2831 2830 nationality and statelessness of Rohingya women and girls”.2838 Further, Rohingya women and girls who refuse to identify as ‘Bengali’ are “ arbitrarily excluded from the verification process”.2839 The Committee recommended that Myanmar amend its discriminatory laws on citizenship, ensure the registration of Rohingya children, and recognize Rohingya individuals’ and communities’ right to self-identify.2840 Treaty ratification status Myanmar has only ratified three relevant treaty bodies, that includes ICESCR, CRC and CEDAW. In its 2012 concluding observations, the CRC Committee expressed concerns regarding the large portion of the population without access to citizenship, the lack of protective legislation for stateless children and the overall strict citizenship laws which leave many stateless.2832 The Committee was also concerned that ethnicity and religion are marked on identity cards, exposing minority populations to discrimination.2833 The large number of children, particularly Rohingya children, whose birth remain unregistered was also noted, citing multiple administrative barriers to registration.2834 It was recommended that Myanmar remove such barriers and ensure effective registration of all children in the territory.2835 As a party to the CRC, Myanmar is obligated to ensure that every child’s birth is registered immediately as well as that all children enjoy the right to acquire a nationality.2836 In Myanmar’s Universal Periodic Review, the 1982 Citizenship Law was identified to be discriminatory on the grounds of race, placing several groups, including the Rohingya, at risk of statelessness.2841 The UPR further adds that while groups outside of the 135 listed ethnic groups in citizenship legislation may be eligible for citizenship under certain provisions, implementation has been arbitrary and discriminatory.2842 Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar) ICJ GL No 178 In 2019, The Gambia filed a case against Myanmar in the International Court of Justice In its 2019 concluding observations, the CEDAW Committee also raised extreme concern over the repeated warnings given to Myanmar regarding its regressive Citizenship Law and ‘citizenship verification’ exercises conducted in northern Rakhine State.2837 These verification exercises have resulted in the “arbitrary deprivation of In its 2019 concluding observations, the CEDAW Committee also raised extreme concern over the repeated warnings given to Myanmar regarding its regressive Citizenship Law and ‘citizenship verification’ exercises conducted in northern Rakhine State. TABLE 74 (ICJ) accusing Myanmar of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention and its intention to “destroy the Rohingya as a group”.2843 The Gambia also requested that the Court grant measures to protect the Rohingya from the ongoing genocide.2844 Albeit Myanmar denied these allegations,2845 the ICJ ruled in 2020 that Myanmar is now legally bound to “take measures to protect the Rohingya from genocide; prevent the Military from committing genocide; take steps to prevent the destruction of evidence of genocide; and file a report with the ICJ in four months, and every six months that follow until the closure of the case, documenting what they have done to ensure these measures are met”.2846 Objections by the Myanmar government in 2021 that the Court did not have jurisdiction for the case were thwarted by the Court’s judgement in 2022.2847 In 2002, a rare occurrence for the U.S., Anthony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, explicitly stated that the Rohingya have, in fact, been subjected to crimes against humanity constituting genocide by the State of Myanmar, essentially expressing its support for the Gambia’s case.2848 The U.S.’s statement is said to be based on the findings of experts appointed by the U.S. State Department which supports the findings of the Independent International Fact-Finding Albeit Myanmar denied these allegations, the ICJ ruled in 2020 that Myanmar is now legally bound to “take measures to protect the Rohingya from genocide; prevent the Military from committing genocide; take steps to prevent the destruction of evidence of genocide; and file a report with the ICJ in four months, and every six months that follow until the closure of the case, documenting what they have done to ensure these measures are met”. Mission on Myanmar.2849 On November 15, 2023, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, and the Netherlands filed a joint declaration of intervention, supporting the accusations that Myanmar’s systematic ‘clearance operations’ amount to acts of genocide intended to destroy the Rohingya as a group.2850 A separate declaration of intervention was received by the ICJ from the Maldives on November 10, 2023.2851 The ICJ has set May 2024 and December 2024 as time limits for written pleadings from The Gambia and Myanmar respectively.2852 Population Reported stateless persons 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 2022.2853 This reported figure represents UNHCR’s estimate of the number of Rohingya as well as stateless Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Myanmar in Rakhine State alone.2854 Data in other states of Myanmar are unavailable.2855 The estimate also includes 156,600 internally displaced Rohingyas.2856 This represents an increase of 30,000 stateless persons in the last year after three years of no change in the reported estimate at 600,000.2857 The Rohingya population, a largely Muslim ethnic group with roots in the Rakhine state in west Myanmar2858, has faced discrimination, persecution and oppression at the hands of the government of Myanmar over the past decades.2859 Not included in the list of 135 ethnic groups eligible for TABLE 75 Status of Accession of International Human Rights Treaties in Southeast Asia Reported stateless persons to the UNHCR Country Myanmar ✅ ⛔ 250 Stateless 1 ⛔ Stateless 2 ⛔ Refugee Signifies that the country is a party to the convention Signifies that the country is not a party to the convention ⛔ ICCPR ⛔ ICESCR ✅ ICERD ⛔ CRC ✅ CEDAW ✅ Stateless 1 - 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons Stateless 2 - 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC (DETAILED VERSION) Country Myanmar 2019 (year start)2860 2020 (year end)2861 2021 (year end)2862 2022 (year end)2863 600,000 600,000 600,000 600,000 Source: UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement from 2019-2022. 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