Analysis of The Burmese Citizenship Act, 1982

General Ne Win can in power in 1962 and along with his relatives
proposed the Citizenship Act of 1982, which was the most malicious
and discriminatory law to be passed in the history of mankind.
Clearly violates the Article 15 of the Universal Declaration Of Human
Rights, which states the right to nationality of an individual. Lack of
full citizenship rights means that the Rohingya are subject to other
abuses, including restrictions on their freedom of movement,
discriminatory limitations on access to education, and arbitrary
confiscation of property.
There are three categories of citizens in this 1982 Citizenship Law of
Burma. They are: Citizens, Associate Citizens and Naturalized
citizens.
Full citizenship is restricted to nationals of specific ethnic groups who
settled in Burma prior to 1823.Burma does not consider the Rohingya
to be a national ethnic group. The Rohingya are therefore excluded
from full citizenship.
Associate citizenship only applies to individuals who had already
applied for citizenship under the Union Citizenship Act 1948.
Naturalised citizenship may be applied for by individuals (and their
offspring born within Burma) who can furnish conclusive evidence
that they entered and resided in Burma prior to 4 January 1948. This
also effectively excludes almost all Rohingya, since they are in
practice unable to furnish the conclusive evidence required.
The section 4 of the Act states that The Council of State may decide
whether any ethnic group is national or not and section
Violation of the UN convention in the Rights Of Child which ensures
nationality by birth.
Denial of citizenship to the Rohingya when the certificate of
citizenship was issued on the grounds of low evidence.

Changes to this act

The 1982 citizenship law should be amended to reflect basic principles of

human rights, including equality and non-discrimination. The changes could
include:

Citizenship at the date of commencement of the new act: With the

commencement of the new act all the Rohingya will be given
immediate citizenship and a strict count will be maintained in order

to ensure that people do not sneak into the country.

Citizenship by birth: Every person born in Myanmar irrespective of
his religion, caste, and culture should be given citizenship and will be

called citizens of the country.

Citizenship by descent: The descendants of the ancestors who lived
in

Burma

will

be

given

citizenship

with

evidence

and

no

discrimination will be made on these grounds.

Citizenship by migration: The citizens who have migrated to Burma a
long time ago will be given citizenship and they will therefore be
protected by certain rights and will have some fundamental rights

and duties.
Citizenship for Married women: Married woman will be allowed
citizenship and they will be treated equally on all grounds.

Providing citizenship is not the only change required in this act there are
several other areas that need amendments mainly relating to the human
rights of the people in the country.

The right to free movement-The minority groups were not allowed

to move freely and therefore this must be changed.

Right to education The Rohingya must be given the right to
education and no form of discrimination must take place in this

regard.
Freedom of choice- The Rohingya Muslims should have the freedom
of choice to decide their livelihood and their property must not be

taken from them.

Freedom of religion and minority rights-The rights of the minorities
must be protected and certain quotas must be made for them to
ensure equal opportunity. These citizens must also be given the
choice to choose the religion of their own.

Freedom of speech and political freedom-Many cases have occurred

in the past where free speech was curbed and reporters were even
arrested. This must not be practiced and everyone should be able to

express their own views.

Childrens Rights-The rights of the children must be protected and
they just be given citizenship as soon as they are born. These children

must be provided education as well.

Human trafficking-The government should have strict laws against
human trafficking, which is said to be one of the biggest problems in
the country.

Implications Of The Changes

Implementation Method
Campaign with Aung Sang Suu Kyi