4 Conclusion and recommendations Rohingya across the region are in crisis. Wherever they go, and whatever they do, they face multifaceted and multi-layered discrimination and restrictions on their rights. These restrictions have a devastating human cost. Too often, Rohingya are not recognised or protected by the law, struggle to access essential services like education and healthcare, and are exposed to increased risk of exploitation and abuse. Deprived of future opportunities, Rohingya children cannot reach their full potential, and are instead condemned to further cycles of discrimination, alienation, marginalisation and exclusion. The status quo is not sustainable. The sheer scale of this crisis and its protracted nature underscores the urgency with which regional governments must act. While the roots of the crisis – and many of the solutions – undoubtedly lie in Myanmar, governments in the region also have a responsibility to take effective action to respect and protect the rights of the Rohingya. There is a perception that individual state action to create stronger legal and protection frameworks will create a ‘pull’ factor, increasing the burden on the state in question. Yet the reality is that failing to protect the Rohingya in their territories also comes at a cost – to national and regional security, to international reputations and relations, and often to the very principles on which a state was originally founded. These costs only increase as time goes by, and as yet another generation of Rohingya is forced to grow up amid discrimination, deprivation and disenfranchisement. With the situation in Myanmar now extremely unstable, it is essential that all governments in the region act to protect Rohingya, wherever they are. Strong individual government action coupled with coordinated regional action is not only required, it is a moral imperative. Recommendations NATIONALITY AND IDENTITY DOCUMENTATION Country Stakeholder Recommendation Bangladesh Government Make sure that all children born in the country have access in law, policy and practice to universal birth registration, irrespective of legal or other status, and immediately grant citizenship status to children born in the country who would otherwise be stateless. Myanmar Malaysia Indonesia Identify children and young adults born in the country whose births have not previously been officially registered, and take effective steps to register them and issue them with birth certificates. Thailand Myanmar Government Review and revise or replace the 1982 Citizenship Act to bring it in line with international human rights law and standards. Immediately suspend the citizenship verification process. Remove burdensome requirements that make it difficult for Rohingya families to add their children’s names to household lists. continued on next page 29