A/HRC/43/18 I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 39/2, the Human Rights Council requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to submit to its forty-third session a report on the “root causes of the human rights violations and abuses the Rohingya Muslim minority and other minorities in Myanmar are facing, including discrimination, racial intolerance and xenophobia and Islamophobic practices, in violations of international human rights law and contrary to international declarations, including but not limited to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and to recommend concrete measures to be taken by the Government of Myanmar and the international community to address the current situation”. 2. The report was prepared based on primary and secondary information which OHCHR collected from various sources, including the United Nations, civil society organizations, representatives of ethnic and religious minority communities, diplomats, academics and other experts. Given the limited access to locations outside of Yangon, including areas predominantly populated by ethnic and religious minorities, OHCHR sought other means of verification to determine the reliability of information received, including interviews with ethnic and religious minority representatives in countries outside of Myanmar. All information was subject to rigorous verification on the grounds of relevance, veracity and accuracy. In response to the questionnaire sent by OHCHR, the Government of Myanmar provided information through a Note Verbale dated 3 February 2020, and comments on the draft report were also received through a Note Verbale dated 24 February 2020. Efforts have been made to reflect the received information where relevant. 3. The report should be read in conjunction with the 2016 report of the High Commissioner to the Human Rights Council on the situation human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar (A/HRC/32/18) and the 2019 report of the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights of Rohingya in Rakhine State (A/HRC/40/37). Considering the extensive documentation of the human rights situation in Myanmar contained in these reports, and in the reports of the successive Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in Myanmar and of the Independent International FactFinding Mission on Myanmar (“Fact-Finding Mission”), this report seeks to avoid repeating previous findings. II. Root causes of the human rights violations and abuses against the Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar 4. Violations and abuses against minorities in Myanmar affect the entire spectrum of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights, and are engrained in the history and fabric of society at large. In addition to the institutionalized persecution of the Rohingya in Rakhine State, long-standing armed conflicts have continued to lead to serious violations and abuses of human rights of ethnic minorities in other states, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, forced labour and sexual and gender-based violence, and extensive forced displacement1. This situation has gravely hampered the ability of minorities to enjoy other rights, including freedom of movement, health, education, and impose significant limitations to livelihood opportunities, thereby perpetuating a cycle of marginalization and poverty. Additionally, development and infrastructure projects planned or undertaken without genuine consultation and compensation have dispossessed affected communities of land, resources and livelihoods, exacerbating inequalities. The Fact-Finding Mission concluded that the serious violations it had documented amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity and, concerning the persecution of the Rohingya in Rakhine State, that there is a case to answer with respect to genocide. 5. The root causes of the human rights violations against Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar are complex, multi-dimensional and longstanding. Unpacking and untangling this multi-faceted human rights challenge therefore requires a broader historical analysis, 1 See A/HRC/32/18 and A/HRC/40/37 3