ADVISORY COMMISSION ON RAKHINE STATE FOREWORD BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMISSION Rakhine State in western Myanmar has a long and proud history and a rich cultural tradition. Once a thriving trading hub and a major producer of rice in Asia, Rakhine today is one of the poorest states in Myanmar, plagued by inter-communal tension and conflict, and the subject of intense international debate and scrutiny. The vast potential of the state remains largely unexploited for the benefit and welfare of the people of Rakhine. In September 2016, following a request from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the State Counsellor of Myanmar, the Kofi Annan Foundation and the Office of the State Counsellor established an Advisory Commission on Rakhine State. The Commission is a national entity and the majority of its members are from Myanmar. It was mandated to examine the complex challenges facing Rakhine State and to propose responses to those challenges. Over the past twelve months, my fellow commissioners and I have travelled and consulted widely. We met with political leaders and communities across Rakhine State as well as with Government ministers and officials in Naypyitaw, with civil society and religious leaders, with Myanmar’s international and regional partners and individual experts. Those consultations are the basis for the analysis, ideas, concerns and recommendations of the final report of the Commission. The importance of our task was both underlined and complicated by the attacks on security personnel that took place in northern Rakhine State in October 2016. While those attacks, and the subsequent security operations, greatly increased tensions, they also reinforced our determination to find durable solutions to the instability and insecurity that continue to blight the prospects of Rakhine State. In March 2017, the Commission issued a set of interim recommendations, and I welcome the initial steps the government has taken to implement these recommendations. However, as this final report of the Commission makes clear, there is still a long road to travel before we can be confident that the peace and prosperity of Rakhine State are assured. At the inauguration of the Commission, the State Counsellor urged us to be bold in our recommendations. We have followed that advice. We have endeavoured 6 Towards a Peaceful, Fair and Prosperous Future for the People of Rakhine