A/HRC/25/64 important challenges that Myanmar is facing, which is to address its long history of impunity. He therefore recommends that the Human Rights Council work with the Government on this latest incident to establish a credible investigation to uncover the truth of what happened in Du Chee Yar Tan and to hold anyone responsible for human rights violations to account. The Special Rapporteur believes that investigations conducted with the involvement and support of the international community, including in relation to technical assistance, represent an opportunity to turn the tide of impunity in Rakhine State. 49. In addition to tackling impunity, the other underlying issue that the Government is failing to address is the systematic discrimination against and marginalization of the Rohingya community. To tackle this requires key legislative changes. For more than 20 years, holders of the special procedures mandate on the situation of human rights in Myanmar have been advocating reform of the 1982 Citizenship Act. Particularly problematic under international human rights law is the provision referring to certain “national” and “ethnic” groups as Myanmar citizens, specified by authorities in a list of 8 “national” and 135 “ethnic” groups. The majority of Myanmar citizens have automatically acquired citizenship under this provision by virtue of belonging to one of those groups. In practice, that has led to “nationals” and “ethnic groups” not contained in those listings being discriminated against on the basis of race and ethnicity in their access to citizenship, including the Rohingya Muslims, as well as persons of Indian, Chinese and Nepali descent, which is in contravention of international human rights law. To bring the Citizenship Act into line with international standards, race and ethnicity cannot be determining factors in the granting of citizenship. Instead, the law needs to provide for objective criteria that comply with the principle of non-discrimination, such as birth in the territory and descent (with citizenship being passed through a parent who is a citizen). 50. The Government has stated that, “it is crucial for non-Rakhine community [sic] to accept the population verification process” that is being proposed as “an initial step for resettlement and access to livelihoods, freedom of movement and citizenship among others”.5 The Special Rapporteur acknowledges that if that exercise is conducted in accordance with international human rights standards, including with regard to consultation with affected communities and enabling ethnic groups to self-identify, it could be an important initiative to help address the issue of citizenship in Rakhine State. 51. Taking into consideration the information and allegations the Special Rapporteur has received throughout the course of his six years on this mandate,6 including during his five visits to Rakhine State, and in particular since the June 2012 violence and its aftermath, he concludes that the pattern of widespread and systematic human rights violations in Rakhine State may constitute crimes against humanity as defined under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. He believes that extrajudicial killing, rape and other forms of sexual violence, arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment in detention, denial of due process and fair trial rights, and the forcible transfer and severe deprivation of liberty of populations has taken place on a large scale and has been directed against the Rohingya Muslim population in Rakhine State. He believes that the deprivation of health care is deliberately targeting the Rohingya population, and that the increasingly permanent segregation of that population is taking place. Furthermore, he believes that those human rights violations are connected to discriminatory and persecutory policies against the 5 6 See http://myanmedelhi.com/ministry-of-foreign-affairs-responds-to-mr-tomas-ojea-quintanasstatement-made-on-19-2-2014/. See A/63/341, paras. 61–62; A/64/318, paras. 70–80; A/HRC/13/48, paras. 86–94; A/65/368, para. 73; A/HRC/16/59, para. 46; A/66/365, para. 29; A/67/383, paras. 56–67; A/HRC/22/58, paras. 46–60; A/68/397, paras. 46–57. 13