A/HRC/39/CRP.2 not”.1055 These initial eight groups were later broken down in a list of 135 sub-groups. They do not include the Rohingya or people of Chinese, Indian or Nepali descent. 1056 Full citizens are those with both parents holding a category of citizenship, including at least one full citizen; third generation offspring of citizens in the two other categories of citizenship; and persons who were citizens when the law entered into force.1057 Full citizens receive a Citizenship Scrutiny Card. • “Associate” citizenship is for those whose application for citizenship under the 1948 Citizenship Law was pending when the 1982 law came into force. A central body is tasked to decide on applications. 1058 They receive an Associate Citizenship Scrutiny Card. • “Naturalized” citizenship may be granted to persons who provide “conclusive evidence” of entry and residence in Myanmar before 1948, and of the birth of their children in Myanmar.1059 It may also be granted under certain circumstances by marriage or descent. In addition, applicants for “naturalized” citizenship must be at least 18 years, have command of one of the national languages, and be of “good character” and “sound mind”. Naturalised citizens receive a Naturalised Citizenship Scrutiny Card. 478. Despite this legal framework being discriminatory in intent and purpose, Rohingya are not necessarily fully excluded from citizenship. First, the Constitution and the law provide that whoever was a citizen at its entry into force would remain a citizen. 1060 Second, while it is disputed whether the Rohingya are a “national race” and automatically entitled to full citizenship on that ground, many Rohingya would have at least qualified for “associate” or “naturalised” citizenship. Their third generation offspring would have been full citizens by now. Third, the law also explicitly authorizes the State to confer any of the three categories of citizenship on any person “in the interests of the State”. 1061 479. In reality, however, the law has been implemented in a discriminatory and arbitrary manner.1062 The authorities commenced enforcement of the law only after the SLORC took power in 1988. In a nationwide citizenship scrutiny exercise, the National Registration Card (NRC) had to be turned in and replaced by a Citizenship Scrutiny Card (CSC). However, Rohingya who presented their NRCs were reportedly refused a CSC, even when meeting the conditions for citizenship. Such arbitrary action was facilitated by provisions of the 1982 Citizenship Law allowing for broad discretion in decision making. 1063 NRCs were not returned to Rohingya; instead they received Temporary Registration Cards (or “white cards”).1064 These interim “white cards” became the de facto identification documentation for the approximately 700,000 Rohingya to whom they were issued for the next 20 years.1065 1055 1056 1057 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 Ibid., art. 4. The list of 135 regularly features in State publications, including for example The Working People’s Daily issue of 26 September 1990 (“Our Union of Myanmar where 135 national races reside”). 1982 Citizenship Act, arts. 5-7. 1982 Citizenship Act, art. 23. 1982 Citizenship Act, art. 42. Section 345 of the 2008 Constitution explicitly provides that any person who is already a citizen according to law on the day of entry into force of the Constitution remains a citizen. Section 346 provides that citizenship, naturalisation and revocation of citizenship shall be prescribed by law. No laws have been adopted since the 1982 Citizenship Law, so this regime still applies. 1982 Citizenship Act, art. 8. N. Cheesman, “How in Myanmar ‘National Races’ Came to Surpass Citizenship and Exclude Rohingya”, Journal of Contemporary Asia, Volume 47, 2017 - Issue 3, 2017, p. 12. 1982 Citizenship Law, art. 71: “… no reasons need to be given by organizations invested with authority under this law in matters carried out under this law.” N. Cheesman, “How in Myanmar ‘National Races’ Came to Surpass Citizenship and Exclude Rohingya”, Journal of Contemporary Asia, Volume 47, 2017 - Issue 3, 2017, p. 12; Nyi Nyi Kyaw, “Unpacking the Presumed Statelessness of Rohingyas”, 15(3) Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies (2017), p. 278. Nyi Nyi Kyaw, “Unpacking the Presumed Statelessness of Rohingyas”, 15(3) Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies (2017), p. 279-280, referring to sources in the Department of Immigration and National Registration. 115