A/HRC/42/CRP.5 Bangladesh during the first seven months of 2019.259 The Mission found that this drop in arrivals has been partly due to the increase in movement restrictions, particularly the proliferation of security checkpoints, accompanied by increased documentation verifications across northern Rakhine State.260 143. Restrictions on freedom of movement are affecting almost every aspect of the way of life of the Rohingya community. Some recent movement restrictions may be attributable to some extent to the continued conflict between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA), discussed below. However, the evidence is that they are targeted specifically at the Rohingya and, predominantly, they are not merely collateral to the AA conflict. Current restrictions on Rohingya freedom of movement 144. The Government currently restricts the freedom of movement of Rohingya through a combination of local orders, verbal instructions and security checkpoints, soldiers and patrols,261 which have the cumulative effect of confining them to their villages and camps.262 The Mission received numerous and consistent accounts that the authorities in Buthidaung Township, and in particular the Tatmadaw, issued verbal instructions and threats, restricting movement of Rohingya even between villages. 263 For inter-township travel, Rohingya have to obtain authorisation (known as a “Form 4”), even though they do not fall into the category of either “foreigners” or “Bengali”. Travel authorisation usually restricts the travel to a prescribed validity period, generally one or two weeks. 264 The process to obtain a travel authorisation is expensive and lengthy and involves cumbersome bureaucratic procedures. For travel between villages, Rohingya have to obtain a village departure certificate to travel outside their own village tract and in some cases even for traveling between villages within the same tract. 265 Interviewees told the Mission that, for months following the August 2017 “clearance operations”, people could not venture out of their villages.266 145. Rohingya who travel without the necessary documentation risk arrest 267 and prosecution under section 188 of the Penal Code or the 1949 Residents of Myanmar Registration Act.268 The latter carries up to six months imprisonment for not producing a registration card when being checked.269 Section 188 of the Penal Code and the Residents Registration Act provide detention sentences of one month to two years for disobeying a public servant’s order. The Mission received information that many of the female prisoners in Buthidaung Prison were serving jail terms for violating the Government’s movement restrictions.270 146. Rohingya who arrived in Bangladesh during the reporting period told the Mission of a notable increase in security checkpoints and presence of soldiers along the roads and waterways across Rakhine State. The increase in checkpoints was coupled with an increase in document-checking, as well as more severe punishment for those who failed to produce a 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 UNHCR, Population Factsheet, available from https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/download/70585. CI-288, FI-023, FI-024, FI-052, FFFGEN-1-84224, CI-287, CI-306, FI-023, FI-024, FI-025, FI-029, LM-056, RM-010, V-370, see also Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Mapping Conditions in Rakhine State, available from https://pageflow.aspi.org.au/rakhine-state. FI-007, FI-024, FI-025, FI-035, FI-048. CI-264, CI-267, CI-270, CI-287, CI-306, FI-024, FI-025, RM-010, FFFGEN-1-84224, V-370, https://pageflow.aspi.org.au/rakhine-state. CI-310, FI-024, FI-026, FI-027, FI-028. A/HRC/39/CRP.2, Para 667, FFFGEN-1-84224. FFFGEN-1-84224. CI-229, CI-270, FI-007, FI-010, FI-024, FI-025, FI-027, FI-028, FI-031, FI-035, FI-046. FI-007, FI-024, FI-031, FI-048, FI-052, FFFGEN-1-184224. FFFGEN-1-184223, A/HRC/39/CRP.2, para 511. The Resident of Burma Registration Act, 1949, article 4(2)c and 6 (3), available from http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs12/The_Residents_of_Burma_Registration_Act-1949.pdf FI-016, FI-052. 49