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The Law And Policy Reforms Myanmar Needs To Combat Intolerance And Discrimination Based On Religion Or Belief

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The recent atrocities perpetrated against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar (and against other religious minorities in Myanmar) require investigation and the prosecution of those responsible. The atrocities have included the forcible deportation of over 700,000 people from Myanmar to Bangladesh “through a range of coercive acts and that great suffering or serious injury has been inflicted on the Rohingya through violating their right of return to their state of origin.”  

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is already looking into the atrocities after on November 14, 2019, Pre-Trial Chamber III authorized the Prosecutor to proceed with an investigation. The court has recognized its jurisdiction to consider the situation despite the fact that Myanmar is not a party to the Rome Statute. Similarly, the International Court of Justice (the ICJ) will be considering the atrocities perpetrated in Myanmar, after the Gambia initiated proceedings against Myanmar. Yet, it will take many years before some of those responsible for the atrocities face justice.

However, the long pursuit of justice should not distract us from advocating that other steps be taken to ensure that the minorities that were targeted by the recent atrocities are safe in Myanmar and can re-establish their lives. 

One change which is urgently required is law and policy reform. To address the issue, the International Commission of Jurists, in cooperation with the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief (IPPFoRB), produced a briefing identifying the changes that are required. The briefing calls upon the Burmese government to implement the proposals it recommends. The message that underlines the briefing is that the religion or belief of those communities targeted by the atrocities should not be used to justify the acts. Indeed, their rights must be adequately protected, in accordance with international standards. 

The recent report identifies colonial era blasphemy laws as a source of some of the recent challenges. It concludes that these laws have resulted in restrictions of the right to freedom of speech, particularly through the “Protection of Race and Religion Bills” in 2015. 

The report emphasizes how the blasphemy laws have been used and abused to convict individuals even where there is no evidence of intent to insult a religion or of incitement to violence, hostility or discrimination on religious grounds. Blasphemy laws are always a controversial subject as they are highly subjective. However, where the laws of procedure and due process are not followed, blasphemy laws are a significant threat to religious minorities. 

The report further discusses the “Protection of Race and Religion Bills”, four laws adopted in 2015 that affect both religion and ethnicity in Myanmar, namely, the Buddhist Women Special Marriage Law, the Religious Conversion Law, the Population Control Law, the Population Control Law, and the Monogamy Law. 

The Buddhist Women Special Marriage Law regulates marriages between Buddhist women and non-Buddhist men, imposing an obligation to register such marriages and imposing obligations on non-Buddhist husbands (under the threat of sanctions). The Religious Conversion Law regulates conversion by imposing an extensive approval process. The Population Control Law legalizes the introduction of special zones with population control measures. One such population control measure is a “three-year birth spacing.” The Monogamy Law bans polygamy.

Among the laws, the Religious Conversion Bill is the most controversial piece of legislation as it significantly affects the right to freedom of religion or belief. According to the Religious Conversion Bill, under Section 5, individuals wishing to convert are subject to burdensome paperwork, providing personal information and reasons for converting to a new religion. Upon receipt of the application, the Registration Board will review it and arrange for an interview (if the application is full and complete). The approval can take up to 90 days (although that period may be extended by up to a maximum of 180 days, on request by the applicant). The Religious Conversion Bill further incorporates some vaguely worded prohibitions, including:

“14. No one is allowed to apply for conversion to a new religion with the intent of insulting, degrading, destroying or misusing any religion. 

15. No one shall compel a person to change his/her religion through bonded debt, inducement, intimidation, undue influence or pressure. 

16. No one shall hinder, prevent or interfere with a person who wants to change his/her religion.”

At the time the laws were considered by the legislature in Myanmar, the U.N. expressed several concerns regarding the laws, especially on the grounds that they were discriminatory against religious minority groups. In 2014, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, and the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Rita Izsák, warned about the dangers of the then draft Religious Conversion Bill stating that it would impose a cumbersome application and approval process for conversion and disproportionate criminal sanctions for the offense. Nonetheless, the draft was subsequently adopted and continues to operate. As the new report suggests, these laws need to be repealed to provide a chance to religious minorities targeted for discrimination and persecution in Myanmar. 

Lastly, the report identified other challenges, including “highly discriminatory legal arrangements for citizenship and the rights of residents in Myanmar”, “arbitrary restrictions on places of worship, mostly for Christians and Muslims” and “preferential treatment of Buddhism, for example in the national school curriculum” as yet extra challenges contributing to the dire situation of religious minorities in Myanmar. 

 All above issues need to be addressed and the law in Myanmar must be aligned with international standards to ensure that religious minorities stand a chance for a normal life, or life in the first place, in Myanmar. Without such changes, one cannot make any promises to the discriminated and persecuted religious minorities of a future in Myanmar. 

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