A/HRC/39/CRP.2 fails in its obligation to ensure access to health care that is available, accessible, acceptable, and of good quality. Such failure has undermined the dignity of the Rohingya, exposed them to unnecessary suffering, immediate and long-term health risks, and preventable deaths. 1220 In such instances it also amounts to a violation of the right to life and to physical and mental integrity. 571. Rohingya are also subjected to discrimination in education. Quality education is unattainable to them. The discrimination faced in primary and secondary schools, and the denial of access to higher education, amount to violations of the right to education. However, they are also powerful tools to ensure cross-generational marginalisation. The restrictions to access to education described above contribute to the slow erosion and weakening of the Rohingya community as a whole. As one interviewee told the Mission: The Government didn’t allow Muslims equal access to education. We were excluded, and with no education, you are side-lined. You are separated from the other citizens in a systematic way.1221 572. What permeates all these restrictions is the blatant discrimination on ethnic or religious grounds, targeting the Rohingya in particular. It is the consequence of policies and practices established, condoned and/or left unaddressed by the State. The restrictions form part of a system of severe and institutionalised oppression, amounting to persecution, of the Rohingya, marginalising and excluding them. 4. Restrictions on humanitarian access 573. In various circumstances, the Government suspends or severely restricts humanitarian access to areas in Rakhine State that are in dire need of assistance, especially in Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung. This happened after the 2012 violence as well as after the “clearance operations” in October 2016 and August 2017. Such restrictions have a serious adverse impact on the population, who are left without critical and lifesaving assistance, including access to food and health services.1222 574. According to credible reports, restrictions on humanitarian access to northern Rakhine were tightened in June and July of 2017, even before the attacks on 25 August 2017 and subsequent “clearance operations”. Following the appointment of a new Security Minister, some organizations were denied travel authorizations. Furthermore, following the publication of a July 2017 World Food Programme (WFP) assessment on food insecurity in northern Rakhine State, the Government circulated a letter addressed to international nongovernmental organizations banning such assessments.1223 The alleged discovery by the authorities of WFP food assistance in a supposed ARSA training camp on 30 July was used as a further reason to justify restrictions. An official statement stated that the “terrorists” were using WFP support for IDPs.1224 It was later reported that these biscuits had actually not been distributed directly by WFP.1225 575. After 25 August 2017, all humanitarian access to northern Rakhine was suspended. The Government also accused some staff members of international non-governmental organizations of participating in the ARSA attacks, while repeating allegations related to the WFP food rations, which reportedly caused a large number of humanitarian aid workers to leave the area.1226 Access then slowly resumed. The Government initially only granted access 1220 1221 1222 1223 1224 1225 1226 136 CI-063, CI-064, CI-073, CI-080, CI-089, CI-090, CI-092, CI-173, DI-002, DI-004, DI-054, DI-073; K-076.12. DI-025. K-069.1, K-069.7. K-069.13. Information Committee, “Commodities found close to the suspicious huts built to shelter the extremist terrorists” (Facebook post, 31 July 2017), available at: https://www.facebook.com/InfomationCommittee/posts/773457006160741. K-069.13. Information Committee, “State Counsellor Office Information Committee’s Statement regarding Extremist Terrorists” (Facebook post, 27 August 2017), available at: