A/HRC/22/58 Sittwe, the local authorities organized a discussion between Muslim and Buddhist community leaders. He urges local authorities to do more to promote such dialogue. 56. The Special Rapporteur highlights that mutually respectful dialogue cannot occur while discrimination based on grounds of ethnicity and religion remains unaddressed. As stated in previous reports, there exists in Rakhine State endemic discrimination against the estimated 800,000 members of the Rohingya Muslim community. The lack of a legal status of the Rohingya effectively gives State sanction to this discrimination, denying them access to many of their basic human rights. He reiterates his recommendation to Parliament that the 1982 Citizenship Act be amended to ensure that all persons in Myanmar have equal access to citizenship and are not discriminated against on grounds of ethnicity or religion. In the meantime, the current Act should be applied in a non-discriminatory manner to enable those with a just claim to citizenship to claim it on an equal basis with others. Immediate measures should be taken to remove other discriminatory regulations applied to Rohingyas, including with regard to marriage, freedom of movement, registration of new born children, and access to education and employment. 57. During his latest mission, the Special Rapporteur visited Sittwe Prison and met with Tun Aung as well as other Muslim and Buddhist prisoners. He believes that Tun Aung is a prisoner of conscience who must be released immediately (see annex), and that such a move is important to demonstrate that Myanmar has made a break from the past and no longer imprisons people for political reasons. 58. The Special Rapporteur notes reports that more than 1,100 persons have been detained in relation to the violence in June and October, the vast majority of whom he understands are Rohingya men and boys. He remains concerned about their possible arbitrary arrest and their conditions of detention and treatment, particularly those from the Rohingya community in Buthidaung Prison, who he believes are especially vulnerable to human rights violations. He is concerned over the possible torture and ill treatment of detainees, as well as the violation of due process rights, including access to legal counsel, judicial control over arrest, guarantees of habeas corpus, pre-trial detention as the exception rather than the norm, and the right to be tried without undue delay. In this context, he recommends that independent monitoring groups, both local and international, be provided with access to places of detention throughout Rakhine State, but in particular Buthidaung Prison, to verify the conditions and treatment of persons detained, as well as to courts for trial monitoring. 59. The Special Rapporteur notes that, since his previous report, all United Nations staff detained in relation to the violence in Rakhine State have been released. However, he remains concerned that the four INGO workers referred to in this same report remain in detention in Buthidaung Prison, and reiterates that the charges against them are unfounded and that their due process rights have been denied and calls for their immediate and unconditional release. 60. While acknowledging the efforts made by neighbouring countries to assist the Rohingya community, the Special Rapporteur reiterates the responsibility of States to respect and protect the human rights of all people within their borders, regardless of whether they are recognized as citizens. The responsibility of neighbouring States has again been highlighted with the taking to the sea by thousands of Rohingyas, expected to number 20,000 between October 2012 and April 2013. He has received reports of the subsequent deaths of hundreds of people through drowning, including on 4 December 2012 when a boat carrying 200 Rohingyas sunk in the Bay of Bengal, resulting in a reported 160 deaths. He has received reports of the involvement of security officials in both Myanmar and receiving countries at every stage of the journey. The fact that Rohingyas put their lives at risk to take to the seas in unseaworthy boats itself indicates the extent of their suffering in Myanmar. In this context, he draws attention to the “non-refoulement” principle under 13