A/HRC/39/CRP.2 borns were added to household lists in 2016, with inconsistent implementation from one area to another and reported cases of applications being rejected .1027 466. Some Rohingya children were added to a separate “black-listed children form” or “illegitimate children form”. This included children whose parents had not received official marriage permission, children whose parents were not present at the household list updating exercise, adopted children, and children born in contravention of the local order limiting the number of children in Rohingya families to two. In April 2013, it was assessed that there were 5,111 “black-listed” children.1028 It is believed that the number of children who were placed on these “black lists” is much higher. 467. The registration of new-borns in the household list has not been undertaken consistently, and as a consequence the number of unregistered Rohingya children in Rakhine State remains unknown. Estimates suggest that almost half of the children in Rakhine State remain unregistered.1029 468. The interim report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State included a recommendation to the Government to “roll out a comprehensive birth registration campaign - with door-to-door visits carried out by mobile teams - in order to reach all children”.1030 In July 2017, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar stated that she had been informed by the authorities of efforts to improve birth registration in line with the interim recommendations from the Advisory Commission. She welcomed the issuance of over 20,000 birth certificates in Rakhine State.1031 The Mission is not aware of further details regarding the issuance of these or any other birth certificates in relation to the interim recommendations. In its report on implementation (January to April 2018) the Committee for Implementation of the Recommendations on Rakhine State did not make any reference to the issuance of birth certificates for Rohingya children. 1032 (b) Denial of citizenship 469. Legal status and identity is further determined by citizenship. The right to a nationality has been described as the “right to have rights”. 1033 It is of vital importance to the realization of all other human rights and is recognised and protected in a series of international legal instruments,1034 most of which apply to Myanmar. The prerogative of States to decide who their nationals are is not absolute. States must comply with their human rights obligations concerning the granting and loss of nationality. 1035 470. The right to a nationality implies the right of each individual to acquire, change and retain a nationality. International human rights law explicitly prohibits the arbitrary deprivation of nationality. In order not to be arbitrary, denial of access to a nationality must be in conformity with domestic law and standards of international law, in particular the principle of proportionality. States have the obligation to ensure that all persons enjoy the 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 112 K-063.12, K-076. K-063.10. See Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, Interim Report and Recommendations (March 2017), p. 12; see also: CRC/C/MMR/CO/3-4, para. 43 and 44(d). Ibid. Yanghee Lee, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, “End of mission statement” (21 July 2017). Committee for Implementation of the Recommendations on Rakhine State, Report to the People on the Progress of Implementation of the Recommendations on Rakhine State - January to April 2018. See for example, S. DeGooyer, A. Hunt, et al., The Right to Have Rights (Verso, London, 2018). The fundamental nature of the right to a nationality has been consistently reaffirmed by the United Nations General Assembly (for example, A/RES/50/152) and the United Nations Human Rights Council (for example, A/HRC/RES/7/10; A/HRC/RES/10/13; A/HRC/RES/13/2; A/HRC/RES/20/5; A/HRC/RES/26/14). UDHR (art. 15), ICCPR (art. 24), CRC (art. 7), ICERD (art. 5), CEDAW (art. 9), CRPD (art. 18), ICPRM (art. 29), ASEAN Declaration (art. 18). See A/HRC/13/34, para. 57.