98
The Union Minister of Labour, Immigration and Population confirmed the use of these
directives in response to questions in the Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house of parliament) on 29
April 2016. Comments available at: https://www.pyithuhluttaw.gov.mm/question-713.
99
This issue has come up extensively in the ICJ’s discussions with lawyers and human
rights activists, including in events hosted by the ICJ in Myanmar. See: Report of the
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, UN Doc.
A/HRC/40/68 (5 March 2019), paras. 53 and 58. See also: Khin Su Wai, “Old identity, new
identification for Mandalay minorities,” 11 April 2014, The Myanmar Times; Jacob
Goldberg, “For ‘mixed-blood’ citizens, Yangon’s passport office is a racist hell,” 14 June
2018, Coconuts Yangon; The Irrawaddy, “Dealing with Rising Religious Tensions in
Myanmar,” 25 May 2019. Further information is available in reports citied above, in
endnote number 7.
100
See for example, further comments attributed to the Union Minister for Labour,
Immigration and Population in 2019: “We have to take time to scrutinize the family lines of
the mix-blood. However, we are doing that step-by-step to avoid delays” in Kyaw Myo,
“Parliament Pushes for Identity Cards to be Issued to IDPs,” The Irrawaddy, 10 May 2019.
101
Article 21 of the UDHR permits States to the rights to participation in public life, voting
and election, and access to serve in the public service to citizens only.
102
See for example, 2018 Yangon Municipal Law, section 17(b).
103
2008 Constitution, section 346, and Legislative Schedule One, section 10(j).
104
Ibid, sections 209, 216, 217 and 456.
105
2014 Census (citation above).
106
See, ICCPR, e.g. Article 15(1) in respect of the principle of nullum crimen sine lege.
107
For further discussion and sources of law on this principle, see: ICJ, “Challenges to
Freedom of Religion or Belief in Myanmar,” 2019 (unpublished/forthcoming), part 2.5.2.
108
See, for example: Siracusa Principles on the Limitation and Derogation Provisions in the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
109
Under the 2008 Constitution, Myanmar’s military, the Tatmadaw, is not subject to
effective oversight from civilian executive authorities, the legislature or the judiciary. Its
Commander-in-Chief is empowered to appoint high-ranking military personnel to three
ministerial portfolios, including the Minster of Home Affairs and the Minister of Border
Affairs. For detail, see: ICJ, “Questions and Answers on Human Rights Law…,” (citation
above).
110
See chapter 5 in each of the three 1983 Citizenship Procedures.
111
ICJ, “Special Economic Zones in Myanmar and the State Duty to Protect Human
Rights,” February 2017, pp. 30 and 65, https://www.icj.org/myanmar-amend-specialeconomic-zones-law-to-protect-human-rights-new-icj-report/.
112
See for example: ICJ and Amnesty International, “Parliament must reject
discriminatory ‘race and religion’ laws,” 3 March 2015, https://www.icj.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/03/Myanmar-Reject-discriminatory-race-and-religion-draft-lawsAdvocacy-2015-ENG.pdf; ICJ, “SEZs in Myanmar,” (citation above) pp. 43.
113
This term (in italics) is prevalent in Myanmar law and can constitute to contribute to a
conflict of law, which is hard to interpret given the lack of guidance on this specific matter.
The ICJ, in the course of extensive research on the legal system including through
discussions with lawyers and judges, is unaware of domestic jurisprudence that clearly
clarifies or otherwise interprets the legal effect of this adage; although, access to
information is challenging, so this does not necessarily mean that guidance does not exist.
114
The legal maxims of “lex specialis” and “lex posterior derogat legi priori” will be
relevant in considering a conflict of laws, for instance where provisions of the Citizenship
Law are contrary to the purpose of the Child Law (or the Bill) with respect to citizenship.
115
See note and references in endnote 97, above.
116
As is the case of Rohingya Muslims, who are one of the groups excluded from the list.
117
For a detailed assessment, see: Justice Base, “Constitutional Analysis of Myanmar’s
1982 Citizenship Law,” December 2018.
118
Take for instance the situation of Kaman Muslims in Kyaukphyu of Rakhine State. See:
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee
Lee, UN Doc. A/73/332 (20 August 2018), para. 52; ICJ, “SEZs in Myanmar,” (citation
above) pp. 68.
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