73 THE RIGHT TO LIVELIHOODS The right to livelihoods is not an explicit right within human rights law. Rather, the right is implied through several distinct rights that, when taken in the aggregate, form the right to livelihoods. These rights include the “right of everyone to an adequate standard of living” for themselves and their families, including “adequate food, clothing, and housing” and the “continuous improvement of living conditions.”297 The principle of non-discrimination also applies to these rights. The Government of Myanmar violated the rights of Rohingya by conditioning access to livelihoods on the disavowal of their ethnic identity through the acceptance of the NVC. Many Rohingya rely on fishing for their livelihood and as a source of adequate food for their families.298 However, in 2017, the government of Myanmar distributed pamphlets in Rakhine State, telling Rohingya that they must have an NVC in order to fish. The authorities then proceeded to enforce the policy, effectively requiring Rohingya fishers to choose between their ethnic identity or their livelihoods.299 The authorities also not only required Rohingya in internment camps and elsewhere to acquire NVCs in order to fish, but also extorted relatively exorbitant fees in exchange for NVCs.300 By conditioning access to fishing and other livelihoods on the acceptance of the NVC, the Myanmar government violated the rights of Rohingya. MASS ATROCITY CRIMES The Myanmar authorities committed the violations documented in this report in the context of Myanmar military-led attacks against Rohingya civilians in Rakhine State that began in October 2016 and August 2017.301 Fortify Rights previously found “reasonable grounds” to believe that the Myanmar military, police, and civilian perpetrators committed the crime of genocide against Rohingya civilians in Rakhine State through at least three criminal acts of genocide: killings, serious bodily and mental harm, and the infliction of conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of the group.302 The FFM similarly found “sufficient information to warrant the investigation and prosecution of senior officials in the [military] chain of command” for the crime of genocide against Rohingya in Rakhine State.303 Fortify Rights and the FFM also found evidence of crimes against humanity.304 On September 6, 2018, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber I ruled that the ICC may exercise jurisdiction over the alleged deportation of Rohingya from Myanmar to Bangladesh, marking the first time the Court has exercised jurisdiction over crimes involving Myanmar.305 The ruling came as a result of the ICC Prosecutor’s request to investigate and possibly prosecute the 297 ICESCR, Art. 11(1). 298 Fortify Rights interview with B.H., C.B., and C.C., Sittwe Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar, 2019; Saw Eh Htoo, “Small Scale Fishermen in Rakhine State,” p. 10. 299 Republic of the Union of Myanmar Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population Department, “National Verification Card Relevant Facts.” 300 Fortify Rights interview with J.S.S., location undisclosed, December 13, 2018. 301 See, Fortify Rights, “They Gave Them Long Swords,” pp. 59–72; Human Rights Watch, “All You Can Do Is Pray”; Fortify Rights and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, “They Tried to Kill Us All.” 302 Fortify Rights, “They Gave Them Long Swords.” 303 OHCHR, “Myanmar: Tatmadaw Leaders Must Be Investigated For Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, War Crimes–UN Report,” August 27, 2018, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NewsDetail. aspx?NewsID=23475&LangID=E (accessed August 23, 2019). 304 Fortify Rights, “They Gave Them Long Swords,” pp. 102-116; Human Rights Council, Report of the Detailed Findings of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, pp. 364-380. 305 ICC, Decision on the “Prosecution’s Request for a Ruling on Jurisdiction under Article 19(3) of the Statute, (Pre-Trial Chamber I), September 6, 2018, para. 61.