Myanmar's 'unofficial minorities' - or those not recognized as belonging to one of the state's 135 official 'ethnic nationalities' - face severe challenges and discrimination in accessing citizenship documentation and by extension, government services and rights including education, housing, and freedom of movement.

The citizenship and identity card system has functioned to maintain a system of segregation and apartheid for Rohingyas in Rakhine State. Elsewhere religious minorities including Muslims and Hindus, people mixed ethnic and religious backgrounds, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returned refugees are amongst those that face discrimination in accessing citizenship documents and rights.

Speakers in this online roundtable will share recent research on citizenship and comment on ongoing threats faced by communities since the February 2021 military coup.

Chair: Elizabeth Rhoads, Postdoctoral Fellow, Human Rights Studies/Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University

Welcome: Bridget Anderson, Director of Migration Mobilities Bristol.

Speakers:

Maung Zarni, activist and scholar, Fellow of the (Genocide) Documentation Centre, Cambodia, and co-author of Essays on Mynamar’s Genocide of Rohingyas (2018).

Natalie Brinham, PhD student, Queen Mary University of London, Programme Officer at the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, and co-author of Essays on Myanmar’s Genocide of Rohingyas (2018).

Kathy Win, Research Fellow, SOAS, University of London.

Aung Ko Ko, Graduate Student, Masters in Conflict Resolution and Coexistence, Brandeis University.

Nan Tinilar Win, freelance researcher, based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Htike Htike, PhD researcher, SOAS, University of London.

Format: The roundtable will be in two parts with a short break in the middle. In each section the speakers will present for 15-30 minutes followed by a response from one of the other panellists and Q&A with the audience.

A Zoom link will be sent to attendees the evening before the event and again an hour before. Registration will close at 12pm on 16th November.

NB The event will not be recorded.

Everyone is welcome. We are seeking to make our events accessible to everyone, so please let us know if you face barriers we could address.

Citizenship in Myanmar: Past and Future