Country Position Paper: Statelessness in Myanmar violate legal certainty, the rule of law and international human rights law generally. Arbitrariness is shown in the way in which citizenship was revoked, domestic laws were applied or not, cards were handed out and revoked, and people were called “illegal immigrants”, yet accepted back in repeated cycles of mass displacement and repatriation. 36 Barriers to civil registration and documentation particularly impact women and children in Myanmar. Key resource: NRC, The seagull, ISI and SNAP, 2018, A Gender Analysis of the Right to Nationality in Myanmar. https://www.nrc.no/resources/reports/a-gender-analysis-of-the-right-to-a-nationality-in-myanmar/ Some state documentation processes in Myanmar have resulted in abuses against minority groups across the country (see populations at risk of statelessness section). For example, violence and abuses related to the issuance of the ID Card for National Verification (ICNV cards or NVCs), in Rakhine State between 2016-7 are well-documented and occurred alongside violence that may amount to crimes against humanity and genocide. 37 Identity documents in Myanmar have been criticised by international human rights bodies due to the risks of discrimination and stigmatisation associated with the practice of issuing ID cards on which the recording of ethnic identity is mandatory. 38 Cards are also colour coded, stigmatising those who are not recognised as “full citizens”. Further, Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar are prevented from self-identifying through their ethnic identity. Other ethnic identities such, as “Bengali” or “mixed race”, have been imposed on them through state registration and documentation processes. Practices such as these are considered to be indicative of situations in which there is a high risk of persecution and genocide. 39 POPULATIONS AFFECTED BY STATELESSNESS IN MYANMAR Rohingya Rohingya are a predominantly Muslim ethnic group with ancestral roots in Rakhine State Myanmar, bordering modern day Bangladesh. They have been stripped of their right to citizenship in Myanmar by a) the 1982 Citizenship Law (see previous section); b) multiple mass expulsions to Bangladesh since 1978 which have been followed by mass repatriations and declining legal status and; c) state practices relating to the removal, destruction and nullification of documents used to prove their identity and residence. In Lieu of their treatment in Myanmar, ISI concludes that there should be a prima facie assumption that Rohingya are refugees entitled to protection under the 1951 Refugee Convention. IIFFM report 2018 para 496. IIFFM report 2018 para 485-8. 38 CRC 2012 39 Stanton, G. 10 Stages of Genocide http://www.genocidewatch.org/genocide/tenstagesofgenocide.html 36 37 10