I. Human Rights Violations and National Verification Cards 44 RESTRICTIONS ON THE RIGHT TO NATIONALITY In a March 2019 report on the human rights situation of the Rohingya in Rakhine State, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that Myanmar has, under the current legal framework, “systematically denied the right of citizenship to members of the Rohingya community, effectively rendering them stateless.”89 The Government of Myanmar asserts that NVCs are “the first step before the scrutinisation of citizenship, in accordance with the 1982 Citizenship Law.”90 However, the NVC itself does not guarantee citizenship in Myanmar, and holders are still required to apply for citizenship under the 1982 Citizenship Law.91 On the back of the card, the NVC states in the English and Burmese languages “[h]olding this identity card does not testify that the card holder is [sic] Myanmar citizen,” as well as “[t]his identity card holder is a person who need [sic] to apply for citizenship in accordance with the Myanmar Citizenship Law.””92 The 1982 Citizenship Law effectively denies Rohingya full citizenship and, as mentioned above, was drafted with discriminatory intent to deny Rohingya access to full citizenship.93 As recently as July 29, 2019, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Myint Thu affirmed that Rohingya with the NVC would be ineligible for full citizenship and would instead be considered “foreign nationals,” saying Rohingya at a later date could be granted “naturalized citizenship” in Myanmar.94 The authorities do not allow Rohingya to identify as Rohingya when applying for NVCs, which also contributes to the decades-long administrative erasure of the Rohingya ethnic identity.95 A pamphlet distributed in July 2019 by government officials says that the NVC physical card will be “without mention of ethnicity or religion.”96 While information on “race” and “religion” is not recorded on the physical NVC, Rohingya applicants, at the time of writing, are still required to provide their “race” and “religion” in the application for an NVC.97 Rohingya who applied for the NVC told Fortify Rights that “Rohingya” is not an accepted option for “race” on the form, and the Myanmar authorities instead require Rohingya to register as “Bengali,” or another foreign identity.98 Also, a June 2019 report by Burma Human Rights states, 89 Many Rohingya reject the term “stateless,” saying they already have a “State” and are indigenous to Myanmar. 90 The Republic of the Union of Myanmar President Office, “NV Process is First Step Towards Citizenship,” October 29, 91 Ibid. 92 See, Annex I: National Verification Card (NVC) 93 Ibid. For more information about the intent of the drafters of the 1982 Citizenship Law, see General Ne Win, “Speech 2017, http://www.president-office.gov.mm/en/?q=issues/rakhine-state-affairs/id-7868 (accessed August 23, 2019). by General Ne Win: Meeting Held in the Central Meeting Hall, President House, Ahlone Road,” The Working People’s Daily. See also, South and Lall, eds., Citizenship in Myanmar, p. 234. 94 “Myanmar to Consider Rohingyas as Foreigners,” Daily Star, July 29, 2019, https://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/ news/myanmar-consider-rohingyas-foreigners-1778449 (accessed August 23, 2019). 95 On October 29, 2017, the Myanmar President’s Office clarified that the NVC process is the “first step before the scrutinisation of citizenship, in accordance with the 1982 Citizenship Law.” The Republic of the Union of Myanmar President Office, “NV Process is First Step Towards Citizenship.” 96 The Republic of the Union of Myanmar, “Benefits of Taking the National Verification Card,” pamphlet on file with Fortify Rights. The same pamphlet also indicates the authorities will collect biometric data from returnees,’ including a “Facial scan,” “10-digit fingerprint scan,” and an “Iris scan,” suggesting a potential digitized NVC. 97 There appear to be multiple NVC application forms with varying questions. See, Annex II: National Verification Card (NVC) Application Form. 98 Fortify Rights interviews with Rohingya refugees, Cox’s Bazar District Bangladesh, 2018 and 2019. Corroborating this a Myanmar civil society leader explained how the Myanmar government make Rohingya identify as other races on immigration forms. He told Fortify Rights: “In immigration offices, they always favor Buddhists . . . I have Rohingya friends. They already have citizenship cards, but in the cards, their race is India and Burmese or Bengali. Most Rohingya do not like the NVC . . . My Rohingya friends tell me that’s the reason they do not want to be verified again in Myanmar.