Individual decisions taken by administrative authorities in these areas must be assessed and guided by the best interests of the child, as for all implementation measures.” 39 See for example: The United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution of 9 February 1996, A/RES/50/152, building on the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality, has “[c]all[ed] upon States to adopt nationality legislation with a view to reducing statelessness, consistent with the fundamental principles of international law, in particular by preventing arbitrary deprivation of nationality”. 40 CRC, general comment No. 6, Treatment of unaccompanied and separated children outside their country of origin, CRC/GC/2005/6 (1 September 2005): “the enjoyment of rights stipulated in the Convention is not limited to children who are citizens of a State party and must therefore, if not explicitly stated otherwise in the Convention, also be available to all children - including asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children irrespective of their nationality, immigration status or statelessness… [The principle of non-discrimination] “prohibits any discrimination on the basis of the status of a child as being unaccompanied or separated, or as being a refugee, asylum seeker or migrant. ” 41 CEDAW Committee general recommendation No. 32 on the gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women, CEDAW/C/GC/32 (14 November 2014). 42 The Human Rights Committee’s general comment 15 on the position of aliens under the Covenant gives full detail, but starts with the statement “the general rule is that each one of the rights of the Covenant must be guaranteed without discrimination between citizens and aliens. Aliens receive the benefit of the general requirement of non-discrimination…” See also: “Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of children in the context of international migration in countries of origin, transit, destination and return*,” 1720405 CMW/C/GC/4-CRC/C/GC/23 (16 November 2017). 43 Arbitrary implementation has been a common theme emerging in the ICJ’s discussions and workshops in Myanmar, particularly with lawyers and civil society actors, over several years. This is also regularly reported in local media and is the subject of much public discourse and debate in Myanmar, largely on the Facebook platform. For a recent example, see: Nanda, “State Counsellor vows no discrimination in issuing IDs,” 18 March 2019, The Myanmar Times; Coconuts Yangon, “Muslim leaders forced to deny discrimination by Bago authorities: rights group,” 19 March 2019. For an analysis of arbitrary implementation with respect to Rohingyas, see: Nyi Nyi Kyaw, “Unpacking the Presumed Statelessness of Rohingyas,” Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 2017, 15:3, pp. 269-286. 44 2008 Constitution, sections 34 and 348. Note too section 361 recognizing the “special position of Buddhism,” and 362 recognizing “Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Animism as the religions existing in the Union.” 45 2008 Constitution, sections 366(a) and 367 and 370, respectively. 46 2008 Constitution, section 348. 47 Myanmar’s election laws reaffirm this restriction, in sections 8(b) and 10(e) of the 2010 Amyotha Hluttaw Election Law, ad of the 2010 Pyithu Hluttaw Election Law and of the 2010 Region Hluttaw or State Hluttaw Election Law. 48 Note that section 60 of the 2008 Constitution affirms the Presidency is an elected office, albeit an indirect election by the Presidential Electoral College. 49 In another qualifier to the rights of citizens, section 392(e) of the Constitution contemplates disqualifying persons from the right to vote, if so prescribed in electoral laws. However, current election laws affirm the right to vote for citizens of all categories (see: Section 6(a) of the 2010 Amyotha Hluttaw Election Law, the 2010 Pyithu Hluttaw Election Law and the 2010 Region Hluttaw or State Hluttaw Election Law). The lack of criteria for restricting voting rights means this could be used to disenfranchise categories of citizens. 50 2008 Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, sections: 345) “All persons who have either one of the following qualifications are citizens of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar: (a) person born of parents both of whom are nationals of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; (b) person who is already a citizen according to law on the day this Constitution comes into operation; 346) Citizenship, naturalization and revocation of citizenship shall be as prescribed by law; and 347) The Union shall guarantee any person to enjoy equal rights before the law and shall equally provide legal protection.” Note that while the Constitution codifies the concept of “national races,” in section 3, these groups are not listed, and individuals who may not be a member of these groups are note 21