The key domestic legislation is the 1982 citizenship law and its procedures, which codifies the acquisition, confirmation and loss of myanmar citizenship. Under the 1982 burmese citizenship law, there are three categories of citizenship. Rohingya ethnic muslim minority and the 1982 citizenship. The law, which has been widely criticised for failing to meet international human rights standards, split the previous single citizenship category into three.
Any bengali muslim living in rakhine state who meets legal requirements according to the 1982 citizenship law will be granted citizenship, ye htut told rfas myanmar service. Muslim minority in northern rakhine state and immediately repeal the 1982 citizenship law. There has since been considerable controversy over whether to call the country myanmar or burma, although the current civilian government continues to. Everyone in myanmar should learn burma citizenship law 1982. Actions will be taken against those citizens who break the section 18 of the 1982 citizenship law. The denial of citizenship to the rohingya people is one of the foundation stones which underpins prejudice and violence against the rohingya. By denying rohingya citizenship, the government is officially saying that they are foreign to burma, and do not belong in the country.
This violates the universal declaration of human rights, the convention on the rights of the child and international norms prohibitingdiscrimination of racial and religious minorities. The law provides full citizenship to those from burmas 5 recognized national races. When the current military government, the state law and order restoration council slorc, took power in 1988, burmas policy toward the rohingyas changed very little. The concept of citizenship in burma and the status of. The estimated population of gurkha is approximately 30. The 1982 burmese nationality law myanmar version free download as pdf file. The burma citizenship act religious literacy project.
Burma citizenship law of 1982 naturalization united. Reflecting on worldview, ideology, and citizenship however, recently the military government of myanmar as burma is now known, introduced a new constitution, as reported below. From 2017 globalcit is the successor of eudo citizenship, which started in 2009 with an initial focus on citizenship laws in the eu member states and gradually expanded its thematic and geographic scope. Provisions in the 1982 law perpetuate the rohingya citizenship crisis by denying burmese citizenship to children born to those considered noncitizens. The 1982 law defines a citizen as someone whose parents each have a form of citizenship. Citizenship is a concept covering different realities and countries over the world based on different principles. The 1982 burmese nationality law,the burma citizenship. For example, under the 1982 citizenship law, a person must establish burmese ancestry. The 1982 citizenship law stripped the rohingya of their citizenship and even the right to selfidentify. Burma citizenship law of 1982 working peoples daily saturday, 16 october, 1982 special supplement burma citizenship law promulgated. Sep 22, 2017 the 1982 citizenship law is at the heart of a heated debate. Under the section 5 of the union citizenship act, persons born after the constitution had come into force were to be citizens of burma a if born in the union of burma of parents one of whom is a union citizen. This process began under the military rule of general ne win and continues until today.
May 12, 2014 dual citizenship is not allowed in burma, according to the 1982 citizenship law, so applicants will be required to give up their foreign citizenship, the minister said. The burma socialist program party, chaired by general ne win, introduced the 1982 law and its three 1983 procedures,10 repealing two earlier laws related to citizenship. Transcend media service 1982 citizenship law of myanmar and. The citizenship law is myanmars domestic law governing citizenship entering into force in 1982. Burma citizenship law of 1982 english online burma. Persons who have entered and resided in the state prior to 4th january,1948,and their children born within the state may, if they have not yet applied under the union citizenship act, 1948, apply for naturalized.
However, this plan continued to refer to the 1982 citizenship law as a basis for citizenship assessment. Severe repression in the early 1990s led to the flight of approximately one half million rohingya from burma into bangladesh and 14,000 into malaysia. Jul 09, 2012 the burmese government consequently enacted the 1982 burma citizenship law. Dual citizenship is not allowed in burma, according to the 1982 citizenship law, so applicants will be required to give up their foreign citizenship, the minister said. The 1982 citizenship law marks the legalisation of a broader and ongoing national campaign to denationalise the rohingya, which includes removing them from myanmar soil and destroying them as an ethnic group. Myanmar is bordered by bangladesh and india to its northwest, china to its northeast, laos and thailand to its east and southeast, and the andaman sea and the bay of bengal to its south and southwest. Globalcit is committed to factbased and nonpartisan analysis of citizenship laws and policies around the globe. The citizenship law, enacted in 1982 by the burmese socialist programme party, is no ordinary law but is directly related to all national races and national security.
Myanmar casts minorities to the margins as citizenship law. Maung zarni is a member of the transcend network for peace, development and environment, founder and director of the free burma coalition 19952004, and a visiting fellow 2011 at the civil society and human security research unit, department of international development, london school of. Burma citizenship law chapter iv naturalized citizenship. These include file fco 153177 burmese citizenship law 1982 which includes diplomatic reporting on the significance of the act, from both british and australian sources. The national coalition government of the union of burma ncgub states that the 1982 citizenship law was designed specifically to deny citizenship to the rohingya. The 1982 citizenship law of myanmar stripped the rohingya of their nationality, making them stateless.
Introduction myanmar is an immensely diverse country from an ethnic perspective. They do not require the government of burma to immediately give rohingya citizenship. While the gurkhas have lived in burma for many centuries, it was during the british rule in burma that the majority of the gurkha migrated from nepal. The following is an excerpt from burma citizenship law of 1982. The law, created by myanmars military dictatorship in 1982, excludes others from full citizenship, but allows them to apply for two lower tiers with fewer rights.
Law and constitution civil and political issues nationality, citizenship and immigration laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to nationality, citizenship and immigration texts burma citizenship law of 1982 english. Persons who have entered and resided in the state prior to 4th. Review of citizenship law spurs debate the myanmar times. Implementation of the rakhine commission recommendations will not create conditions for safe return. Under this law, full citizenship is primarily based on membership of the national races who are considered by the state to have settled in myanmar prior to 1824, the date of first occupation by the british. The 1982 law defines a citizen as someone whose parents each.
Burma citizenship law of 1982 free download as pdf file. He added that anyone who committed a crime before leaving burma would not be eligible. On february 19, 2008, burmas military government announced that work had been completed on writing the draft of. Global citizenship observatory globalcit globalcit.
The literature focuses on the contention that creates boundaries separating citizens from noncitizens, rather than simply on the being that takes. Many were still coming into burma that was very poor at keeping record and stability of the region civil war and government corruption are some reasons. The chairman of the council of state on 15, october promulgated the burma citizenship law which was approved and passed by the third session of the third pyithu hluttaw. The rohingya are not listed as one of these national races and as a result some 800,000 rohingya have become stateless. This law, essentially based on jus sanguinis criteria, identifies three. For some, it is part of the problem, for others it is the solution. Information indicates a lack of coordination and cooperation, and a lack of adequate recordkeeping in burma.
Early civilisations in myanmar included the tibetoburmanspeaking pyu citystates in upper burma and the mon kingdoms in lower burma. Rohingyas born in burma are eligible to apply for citizenship if at least two generations of their families have lived in the country, immigration minister khin ye said wednesday, following. The following is the english translation of the burma. The chairman of the council of state, on 15 october 1982, promulgated the burma citizenship law which was approved and passed by the third session of the third pyithu hluttaw. This was the context of repeated crackdowns and waves of repression, that saw hundreds of thousands of rohingya leave burmamyanmar since the late. The notorious shanbuddhist traitor harn yawnghwe and his ebo euro burma office in brussels is known to have a five years sponsorship deal worth 50 million euros from saudi arabia through oic to put concerted political pressure on burma thein sein and aung san suu kyi to rid of burmas 1982 citizenship act just to give burmese citizenship to all illegal bengali. Researchers may wish to know that the foreign and commonwealth office has now released files for 1982 relating to burmamyanmar. The legal and practical constraints imposed by the burma citizenship law 1982 render it almost impossible for the rohingyas to be recognized as the legitimate citizens of burma. In order for a child to attain burmese citizenship, at least one parent must already hold one of the three types of burmese citizenship. Ibrahim 2016 strongly asserts the 1982 citizenship law was created by a militaryled government that did not acknowledge the rohingyas collective claim to citizenship rights and is based on.
But it is very important for myanmar which is situated among the highly populated countries. This law, essentially based on jus sanguinis criteria, identifies three categories of citizens. The contemporary literature on citizenship around the world is accordingly much more political than the mere notion of membership implied in the books subtitle ways of being in and from burma. The law was deeply problematic, as for many families of various ethnic groups, transnational ties were common and there was. Burmacitizenship law of 1982 working peoples daily saturday, 16 october, 1982 special supplement burma citizenship law promulgated. Please provide any information on whether it is likely that a person who was out of the country would be issued a summons to appear in court.
But article 3 of the 1982 burma citizenship law defines indigenous ethnic groups taingyintha stating nationals such as the kachin, karen, chin, burma, mon, rakhine or shan and ethnic groups as have settled in any of the territories included within the states as their permanent home from a period anterior to 1185 b. The majority of gurkha now reside in yangon rangoon, mandalay, pyin u lwin, mogok, tamu, kalaymyo, mandalay division, kachin state, chin state and shan state. There has since been considerable controversy over whether to call the country myanmar or burma, although the current civilian. This went further than the 1948 law, further reducing the rohingyas previous rights and effectively rendering them stateless14. This is the myanmar version of the 1982 citizenship law. Print new york the burmese government should accept the united nations call. Myanmar nationality law currently recognises three categories of citizens, namely citizen, associate citizen and naturalised citizen, according to the 1982 citizenship law. In the 9th century, the bamar people entered the upper irrawaddy valley and, following the establishment of the pagan kingdom in the 1050s, the burmese language, culture and theravada buddhism slowly became dominant in the country. For muslims across myanmar, citizenship rights a legal. The burma citizenship act of 1982 granted citizenship to individuals residing in burma who could trace their family residency to prior to 1823, that is, the year of the first british military campaign on myanmar and with it, a wave of immigration from india and china. A citizenship law that was most controversial and vague.
Rohingya ethnic muslim minority and the 1982 citizenship law. According to the benjamin zawacki, a senior legal advisor for southeast asia,the system anchor is the 1982 citizenship law, which in both design and implementation effectively. Right to a nationality article 7 the rohingya were rendered stateless by the citizenship act of 1982. The 1982 citizenship law is attached for reference.
The effect of the burma citizenship law 1982 is to make it almost impossible for the rohingya to gain citizenship. Myanmars citizenship law 1982 the citizenship law is myanmars domestic law governing citizenship entering into force in 1982. Section 6 of the 1982 citizenship law states that according to the union citizenship election act, 1948 and the union citizenship act, 1948, a person who is already a citizen on the date this law comes into force is a citizen by law. This is an unofficial translation of the act, the pyithu hluttaw law no. The law was deeply problematic, as for many families of various ethnic groups, transnational ties were common. Published in working peoples daily, 16 october 1982. Nov 03, 2016 the law, created by myanmars military dictatorship in 1982, excludes others from full citizenship, but allows them to apply for two lower tiers with fewer rights. The national coalition government of the union of burma ncgub states that the 1982 citizenship law which excludes most rohingya from citizenship status was designed specifically to deny citizenship to the rohingya 1999, 247248. Since its independence it has been immersed in an intense process of nationbuilding which heavily links ethnic identity and citizenship issues. The 1982 citizenship law deprives the rohingya of citizenship in myanmar. Many came illegally after burma got its independence. Why would burma create the 1982 citizenship law which. Law and constitution civil and political issues nationality, citizenship and immigration laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to nationality, citizenship and immigration texts burma citizenship law of 1982 burmese.
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