Statelessness Working Paper Series 2016/04 consequently weakening their capacity to transform this into social capital, the Myanmar Government has undermined the opportunity for health empowerment, which is intrinsic to health literacy.71 In conclusion, I am not arguing that citizenship is the sole answer to the complex political problems facing the Rohingya in Rakhine State. Nor am I suggesting that if citizenship is conferred upon the Rohingya, that they will automatically achieve a perfect realisation of the right to health. However, what I am contending is that citizenship is an imperative first step for the Rohingya to improve their realisation of the right to health, and consequently achieve better health outcomes. Citizenship bestows enforceable rights under domestic law that render the state accountable and responsible for the citizens within its territory. It also allows individuals to become active participants of the state, rather than onlookers, and acknowledges their right to have their right to health protected under domestic law. 5. The future of the stateless Rohingya – Where do we go from here? 5.1 The theory of natural human rights: A useful or ineffective way of viewing citizenship and the “right to health?” In order to examine the future of the Rohingya it is important to firstly understand the contentious theory of natural human rights, namely the notion that human rights arise by virtue of our humanity.72 For instance, Paine in The Rights of Man argued that, “natural rights are those which appertain to man in right of his existence.” 73 In conjunction, the American Declaration of Independence in 1782 proclaimed that all men “are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.”74 In light of these assumptions, and if we apply this ideology of natural rights to citizenship, human rights become an attribute of citizenship, rather than stemming from its attainment. The reason this topic is relevant to the plight of the stateless Rohingya, is that it provokes the question of whether relying on humanity as the primary locus of human rights, although a worthy ideal in theory, truly does promote an effective realisation of health rights in reality. 5.2 Legal barriers to the “right to health” (i): Domestic jurisdiction over the Rohingya – A tale of contradiction Indeed, being human is enough to bestow rights under international law, however, it fails to be sufficient grounds to administer protection under Myanmar domestic law. 75 The treatment of the Rohingya by the Myanmar government is one defined by contradiction. On the one hand, national and local authorities impose stringent restrictions upon the Rohingya, suggestive of a tie between the two where one has the jurisdiction to reign supreme over the other; a bond in the negative sense, but a bond nonetheless. On the other hand, these very same authorities ardently deny these individuals as citizens and consequently circumvent any political responsibility towards them. This exemplifies a grey area for international law, whereby the protections afforded within the international legal system cannot effectively be applied to individuals under a domestic jurisdiction that fails to abide by international principles of conduct. The forthright manner in which Myanmar impose discriminatory restrictions on the Rohingya, when as non-citizens the Rohingya have no duties towards the State, creates a system of double standards. This, in my opinion, is a clear example of how humanity is not sufficient ground to bestow fundamental protections. It is citizenship, rather than humanity, that domestic Myanmar law favours in its 71 P Makara, ‘Social cohesion and health literacy: Understanding the concept of social cohesion’ (2010) Council of Europe J Locke, Two Treatises of Government (The Lawbook Exchange, 2010) 73 T Paine, Rights of Man (originally published in 1791, republished in 2000) 74 Declaration of Independence: In Congress, July, 4, 1776, The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America (1776) US History Online 75 H Arendt, Origins of Totalitarianism. (Benediction Books, 2009) 10 72