A/HRC/43/18 d. Institutionalization of discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities 16. Myanmar’s military governments constructed a legal regime which institutionalized discrimination against minorities. Among the laws that are still in force, the most notable one relates to citizenship27. The 1982 Citizenship Law established a hierarchy of three citizenship classes, granting full citizenship to those belonging to “national races”, a category primarily based on ethnicity and conferring lesser forms of ‘associate��� and ‘naturalized’ citizenship to others.28 ‘Associate’ and ‘naturalized’ citizens possess fewer rights than ‘full’ citizens, and their citizenship can be revoked on the basis of vague and broad grounds, for instance if they are found to show ‘disaffection or disloyalty to the State’. 29 The detrimental impact of the citizenship regime and its discriminatory implementation on Rohingya in particular has been widely documented, however, there has been a gradual degradation in citizenship rights for other Muslims over the last generation. This has led to a significant exodus to countries in the region, where they have been suffering situations of extreme vulnerability due to lack of documentation and discrimination by local authorities and host communities which deprive them of the possibilities for employment, education and healthcare, leaving many destitute30. 17. Other laws with discriminatory effect on ethnic/religious minorities include those restricting freedom of religion, especially for non-Buddhists. Article 354 places limitations that can be used to justify arbitrary restrictions on freedom of religion or belief of religious minorities on grounds such as “public order and morality”, “law and order” and “union security”.31 In addition, the Penal Code includes several colonial-era offences against religion (‘blasphemy laws’).32 The four “Race and Religion” laws adopted in 2015 appear to specifically target non-Buddhists, in particular Muslims, and contain elements that are discriminatory against women.33 These laws impose restrictions on marriage, religious conversion, extra-marital relations and population control measures. Although these laws have generally not been enforced, no steps have been taken towards their repeal. e. Authoritarianism, impunity and democratic deficits 18. A further root cause of the ongoing violations against minorities are the structural democratic deficits and the weakness in the rule of law and institutions, including the judiciary, generated by decades of authoritarian rule. 19. The entrenched impunity of the military has been well documented 34 and is safeguarded by the Constitution,35 the 1959 Defence Services Act, the 2016 Presidential Security Act, and the 1995 Myanmar Police Force Maintenance of Discipline Law. Prosecutions of military elements for violations against ethnic minorities have been rare and perpetrators were often given reduced sentences or spared from serving full sentences while victims were left without adequate remedy. The successive national commissions of inquiry established over allegations of human rights violations have been characterized by serious shortcomings in terms of independence and impartiality.36 In the absence of meaningful prospects for accountability at the domestic level, efforts have intensified at the international 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 See para. 19, A/HRC/32/18; paras. 21-28, A/HRC/40/37. http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bbb229a29f2cc31b47fa99c/t/5da8434db69a1b13995644df/157 1308367034/Myanmar-Freedom+of+religion+brief-Advocacy-Analysis+brief-2019-ENG.pdf>; A/HRC/40/68. 1982 Citizenship Law, sections 35(d) and 58(d). Burma Human Rights Network, “Existence Denied”, 2018. Christian Solidarity Worldwide, op.cit., pp. 28.29. Articles 295, 295(a) and 298; Myanmar Penal Code (1861) A/HRC/32/18, para. 20. A/69/398, para. 65. Article 343(b) of the Constitution makes decisions of the Commander-in-Chief concerning military justice matters “final and conclusive”, with no right to appeal ICJ, https://www.icj.org/myanmar-reverse-laws-and-practices-that-perpetuate-military-impunitynew-icj-report/ 7