ethnic identities due to the political nature of categorisation during the British colonial period, fixing ethnic categories. Less is known about their experiences in negotiating the rigid ethnic criteria of the citizenship law as these groups are smaller and more dispersed. They may include Gurkhas, Tamils, Hindu speakers of Bengali-dialects, groups that straddle the Chinese/Myanmar border and Muslim and Hindu populations who do not fall into an ethnic designation listed by the Myanmar state.58 42. Other minority groups in Rakhine State have also been increasingly affected by statelessness. This includes Hindus and Maramargyi Buddhists who are linguistically affiliated and bear some physical resemblance to Rohingya.59 Also affected are Kaman (or Kamein), who are a Muslim ethnic minority group residing in Rakhine State that are listed as one of the recognised national ethnic groups of Myanmar. Many Kaman are at risk of statelessness partly as a result of the destruction of their documents and displacement during the 2012 violence in Rakhine State, and also because their citizenship applications are viewed with increasing suspicion and are scrutinised in the context of documenting Rohingya populations.60 43. Muslims from other areas of Myanmar lack adequate documentation and are increasingly at risk of statelessness. Myanmar Muslims report systematic refusals and indefinite delays in the issuance of identity cards and passports61 as well as discrimination against the Myanmar Muslims migrant workers who need to have their citizenship verified by the state to regularise their status in neighbouring countries, such as Thailand.62 Muslims in Myanmar are also registered, or coerced into registering, under the category “mixed race” or ethnic categories that denote them as or foreign, such as “Bengali”, “Pakistani” or “Indian”. They report being subjected to longer delays and greater obstacles in citizenship applications, as well as being forced to pay higher bribes than other (non-Muslim) applicants. Additionally, some are harassed by Intelligence officers as a result of applications.63 44. In addition to members of ethno-religious minority groups who are not included in the list of 135 national ethnic groups, the following are also vulnerable to being arbitrarily denied documentation, deprivation of nationality thus heightening their risk of statelessness: - Non-combatants and members of ethnic armed groups living in conflict areas; IDPs and IDP returnees; Former refugees who have returned to Myanmar from Thailand; The children of inter-ethnic marriages; Persons who do not possess all required supporting documents to apply for nationality (including those who do not have household lists or whose parents are not documented); Disabled persons including those with mental disabilities; and Women and girls in situations of vulnerability. 58 M. Charney, ‘Misunderstandings of ethnic identities in Rakhine as fixed and biological are leading to policy errors by the Government of Myanmar and NGOs on the ground in Rakhine’, SOAS (July 2018), available at https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/26123/1/Charney%202018%20Brief%20on%20Rohingya%20identity.pdf. 59 Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, ‘Submission to the UPR working group’ (IDMC 2015), available at https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=2112&file=EnglishTranslation. 60 ICG, ‘Myanmar: The Politics of Rakhine State’ (2015), available at https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-east-asia/myanmar/myanmarpolitics-rakhine-state., p. 10. 61 N. N. Kyaw, ‘Alienation, Discrimination, and Securitization: Legal Personhood and Cultural Personhood of Muslims in Myanmar, The Review of Faith & International Affairs (2015), 13:4, p. 50-59; Burma Human Rights Network, ‘State-led Persecution of Burma’s Muslim Minorities’ (2017), available at http://www.bhrn.org.uk/en/report/20-bhrn-publishes-research-revealing-state-led-persecution-of-burmas-muslim-minority.html; Burma Human Rights Network, ‘Discrimination against Muslim Passport Applicants’ (2018), available at http://www.bhrn.org.uk/en/report/1051-bhrn-releases-report-on-discrimination-against-muslim-passport-applicants.html. 62 Burma Human Rights Network, ‘Burma Reinforces Muslims’ Statelessness as Thai Migrant Registration Deadline Looms’ (2018), available at http://www.bhrn.org.uk/en/report/1052-burma-reinforces-muslims-statelessness-as-thai-migrant-registration-deadline-looms.html. 63 Ibid. 10