Recommendations This Briefing Paper, in considering ongoing efforts and future plans in relation to digital ID and the Rohingya, has spotlighted numerous concerns. These concerns emanate primarily from the deeply unequal, insecure and marginal position that Rohingya hold in Myanmar, Bangladesh and Indian societies. Arbitrarily deprived of their nationality, stateless and (outside Myanmar) refugees, the Rohingya have little political voice within these countries, and cannot withstand the imposition of discriminatory and unfair systems on them, which will serve to further entrench their exclusion and marginalisation. Unless UN agencies, states, the private sector, civil society and other actors stand with the Rohingya, listen to them, remain accountable to them and apply pressure on the states in question to act in compliance with their international obligations; there is a real risk that policies of digitisation will further policies of genocide (within Myanmar) and of structural discrimination and exclusion (in Bangladesh and India). The warning signs have been many – from the expulsions and forced repatriations of the 1970s and 1990s, the 2014 census, the 2015 and 2020 elections, and genocidal violence of 2017. Despite all the warning signs, NVCs have been, at various stages welcomed by international actors, and repatriation remains a primary pursuit. Rohingyas have paid the ultimate price for past failures, and stand to lose again, if digitalisation is rolled out on top of discriminatory law and policy frameworks, and with ulterior motives. While the march towards modernisation and digitalisation is inevitable and has potential to bring great benefits, the harm that stands to be done if mistakes are made, yet again, must not be ignored or underplayed. It is crucially important to go back to basics, the fundamental principles of human rights, the core SDG principle of ‘leave no one behind’, and the duty to protect refugees and stateless persons. In this context, and in addition to the country-specific recommendations made above, we make the following recommendations to members of the international community: We reiterate to states, UN agencies, development and humanitarian organisations, the recommendations made by the UN Special Rapporteur on Racism, in her November 2020 report to the UN General Assembly. 151 All actors are urged to always engage the Rohingya community in a transparent and constructive manner, to consult with Rohingya leaders before developing positions and policies related to the Rohingya, and to be accountable to the Rohingya in how these policy objectives are pursued and negotiated. Development, humanitarian, private sector and human rights actors should learn lessons from the past, as well as contemporary lessons from other contexts, to ensure that the future pursuit of digital ID for the Rohingya and for other stateless, refugee and migrant communities, is preconditioned upon necessary law and policy reform in relation to nationality rights, privacy and data-protection, equality and non-discrimination and due process. All initiatives related to registration, documentation and digital ID for the Rohingya must be viewed in the wider context of genocide within Myanmar; Bangladesh and India’s historical and ongoing failure to protect and efforts to forcibly repatriate Rohingya to Myanmar. In this context, UN and other actors have a duty to protect the Rohingya and to stand against their refoulement, while searching for durable solutions based on basic human rights. Digital ID initiatives must complement, not hinder, such protection and rights-based approaches. Ms. E. Tendayi Achiume, Report of the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, A/75/590 (November 2020) available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/racism/srracism/pages/indexsrracism.aspx [accessed 13/11/2020] 151 31