How does statelessness affect the ‘right to health’? An examination of the stateless Rohingya in Rakhine State, Myanmar Melanie Waite Statelessness Working Paper Series No. 2016/04 Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion June 2016 Author biography Melanie Waite is currently studying the Graduate Diploma in Law at City University London; she has a particular interest in issues pertaining to statelessness, transitional justice and the rule of law within conflicts. Prior to this Melanie completed an MSc in Global Health and Development at University College London, as well as a BA in English Literature from Exeter University. She is a student member of both Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights and the International Bar Association. Author email melaniechwaite@gmail.com Keywords statelessness – right to health – citizenship – Rohingya – Myanmar – Rakhine State - international law – nationalism Abstract There is a dearth of academic research on the relationship between statelessness and the right to health. This paper aims to fill this gap by examining how statelessness renders individuals legally disenfranchised and vulnerable to health right violations, with a particular focus on the Muslim Rohingya in Rakhine State. My discussion will centre on Myanmar’s 1982 Citizenship Law that has failed to accept the Rohingya as a valid ethnic group and bars them from citizenship. As non-citizens of Myanmar, and without legal protection under domestic law, the government has imposed restrictions on the Rohingya that would not be legally justifiable towards citizens who are protected under the Myanmar Constitution. The discriminatory policies imposed on the Rohingya have had negative ramifications on their capability to realise an effective right to health. Examples of restrictive policies include: restrictions on the amount of children the Rohingya can have, prohibition of travel outside townships without permission, and being barred from employment in the health sector. This paper will demonstrate that citizenship, although not a definitive means to secure a right to health, is an important first step in having the legal validity to champion health rights when domestic constitutions violate their safeguarding responsibilities.  This paper is based on earlier https://theghjournal.wordpress.com pieces that were published online at the Global Health Journal