I. Human Rights Violations and National Verification Cards 52 An internal UNHCR document obtained by Fortify Rights from February 2018 said that “there continues to be reports that whilst further ICNVs [also referred as NVC] are issued, they are not always issued on the basis of a voluntary application.”149 In 2018, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said his team reported allegations that state security forces in Rakhine State systematically demanded that Rohingya accept NVCs, saying: Many refugees interviewed by my staff have said unbearable pressure was placed on them to accept the NVCs. One man stated that he was tied up and beaten by authorities who demanded that he accept the NVC; he refused. Another man said that his son was kidnapped by security forces and held hostage until he could convince other Rohingya in his village to accept the NVC. Recent arrivals describe villagers being forced to accept NVCs at gunpoint. One refugee told us just days ago that Rohingya can now only stay in Rakhine if they accept the NVC.150 Fortify Rights also documented how Myanmar authorities forced, in some cases at gunpoint, Rohingya residents in Rakhine State to accept NVCs. Six former residents of Baw Tu Lar village, also known Bandola village, in Maungdaw Township, described coercive NVC registration exercises conducted by the Myanmar authorities one month before the military razed hundreds of Rohingya villages.151 Myanmar security forces reportedly set up registration stations in the village in mid-July 2017 and called Rohingya village elders to exchange their White Cards for the NVC. One such elder, a 61-year-old Rohingya man, told Fortify Rights: When we were [at the registration station], [the authorities] closed the door and surrounded us, holding guns . . . They separated men and women . . . I refused to sign the paper. I didn’t know what was written on there. Soon, [the military officer] accused me of being a member of al Yaqin [ARSA]. I was afraid . . . The threats to receive an NVC are real. It’s a horrible situation for us.152 He went on to tell Fortify Rights that Myanmar authorities forced five out of seven of his family members to accept the NVC.153 Another Rohingya man similarly reported being threatened by Myanmar authorities during the registration exercise in Baw Tu Lar village, in mid-July 2017, saying: The immigration officers started to call households in, family-by-family, anyone over 18-years old. They took our White Card receipt . . . When they called me to sign on, I took a look and read that it was the NVC . . . I stopped signing. An officer asked me why I was not signing. I replied that I cannot sign on as it is an NVC. It’s not for us. We have been living here since a long time ago . . . The officer threatened me, saying that they would send me to prison if I didn’t sign and accept the NVC. . . Soon, the immigration officer grasped my hands and forced me to sign the card. I had to receive it. Five out of 10 of my family members had to receive the NVC.154 Several residents of Baw Tu Lar village confirmed that the authorities conducted the exercise by gunpoint.155 For example, a 62-year-old Rohingya resident of Baw Tu Lar village explained how the military called a meeting to force residents to accept the NVC: “In the meeting with many of the 149 UNHCR, Citizenship Verification Exercise in Rakhine State Update Advocacy Note, internal report, February 2018, on file with Fortify Rights. 150 Human Rights Council, Oral Update of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Situation of Human Rights of Rohingya People, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/38/CRP.2, July 3, 2018, para. 39. 151 Fortify Rights interviews with D.F., D.G., and D.H., Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, March 10, 2019. Fortify Rights interview with G.D., G.F., and G.G., Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, June 22, 2019. 152 Fortify Rights interview with D.F., Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, March 10, 2019. 153 Ibid. 154 Fortify Rights interview with D.G., Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, March 10, 2019. 155 Fortify Rights interview with D.F., G.D., G.F., and G.G., Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, March 10, 2019.