3.3.5

PREVIEW

What special rights might stateless persons need?

Educator’s notes

Note that access to legal citizenship is often a prerequisite to access other human rights. This means that stateless persons often need a legal citizenship status and some other fundamental rights, such as the right to life, the right to physical safety, and the right to health, in order to just survive, exist and claim more human rights.

There are treaties that relate to the rights of stateless persons. These treaties and some important articles are listed below.

UN Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (1954)

This convention was adopted by the UNGA in 1954 and it came into force in 1960. Myanmar has not signed, ratified or acceded to it. Therefore, this treaty is not legally binding in Myanmar. Many of these rights are granted on an equal basis with foreigners and some are granted on an equal basis with legal citizens. Some of the human rights relevant for stateless persons in this treaty include: 

Article 4: Freedom to practise one’s religion and to a religious education for one’s children

Article 13: Property rights on par with foreigners

Article 14: Intellectual property rights on par with legal citizens

Article 15: Right to association on par with foreigners

Article 16: Right to access courts and legal assistance on par with legal citizens

Articles 17, 18 and 24: Right to employment including self-employment on par with foreigners

Article 19: Right to have academic qualifications and have these recognised by the authorities on par with foreigners

Article 20: Right to receive rations on par with legal citizens

Article 21: Right to housing on par with foreigners

Article 22: Right to access elementary education on par with legal citizens and other education on par with foreigners

Article 26: Freedom of movement on par with foreigners

Article 27: Right to obtain identity documents if needed

Article 28: Right to obtain travel documents

UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961)

This convention was adopted by the UNGA in 1961 and it came into force in 1975. It seeks to address statelessness by identifying obligations that States Parties have to reduce statelessness. Myanmar has not signed, ratified or acceded to it. Therefore, this treaty is not legally binding in Myanmar. One human right relevant for stateless persons in this treaty is: 

Article 9: Freedom from losing one’s nationality because of one’s racial, ethnic, religious or political identity

FOCUS ON MYANMAR: 

birth registration

In Myanmar, hospital staff and travelling midwives are responsible for preparing documents related to birth registrations and certificates of newborn children. This documentation is then sent to the Township Medical Officer in the relevant township. The Township Medical Officer carries the formal responsibility for registering new births and for issuing birth certificates to newborn children. If a child for any reason is not properly registered at birth, their parent or legal guardian must then fill in a birth registration application, have it signed by the relevant local authority and ask authorised hospital staff to fill in another birth registration form to prove that the birth has taken place. These documents are then sent to the Township Medical Officer, who issues the official documentation related to that birth. If someone loses their birth certificate, they can stand before a judge in court and verbally confirm that they are who they say they are. The judge can then sign a document to support that person’s claims. This document is a valid replacement if a birth certificate has been lost (SEDF & JB n.d.).  

According to the 2015-2016 Demographic and Health Survey, the births of two out of every 10 children under the age of five (around 1.3 million children) have not been officially recorded in Myanmar. Children unregistered at birth or children without identification documents are often unable to access their basic rights and social services. Birth certificates are important for updating a family’s household list, for enrolling children in primary school, and for applying for documents to prove a child’s legal citizenship status. 

In 2018, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) supported the government of Myanmar with a nationwide birth registration campaign. This campaign followed the government’s revision of the Manual on Birth and Death Registration. This new manual helped to build a stronger, more sustainable and more routine registration system for birth registration. However, birth registration campaigns remain necessary to urgently extend the service to children that are not reached currently.

The campaign aimed to register all children up to the age of 10, born in all parts of the country, regardless of their parents’ nationality, ethnicity and legal citizenship status. “All children should be registered so they can access vital services, such as health, education and social support without difficulty,” said U Tin Tun, a Member of the Nay Pyi Taw Council overseeing the campaign.

Nearly 130,000 children under the age of 10 received birth certificates.

REFLECTION/DISCUSSION

1. How do you think these measures might help address statelessness among children in Myanmar?
2. How could more births in Myanmar be registered?
3. What resources might be needed to accomplish this?