A/HRC/39/CRP.2 marriage permission. This has led to preventable deaths of mothers and infants and long-term health impacts for women who survive. 1258 “Race and religion” laws 600. In June 2013, the monk Ashin Wirathu called for a law on inter-religious marriage. This was subsequently expanded to a package of four bills to “safeguard nationality and religion”. The MaBaTha submitted a petition to President Thein Sein supporting this proposal, with more than 1.3 million signatures. Despite concerns raised about compliance with human rights standards, including by United Nations experts1259, these four bills became law between May and August 2015. The laws make reference to “non-Buddhists”, not explicitly naming Rohingya or Muslims. However, given rhetoric in the lead-up to their adoption, the laws clearly had a discriminatory intent against the Rohingya. They were built on a number of prevailing stereotypes, including that Rohingya are polygamous and have a high birth rate, and that Buddhist women need protection from conversion to Islam and marriage to Muslims. • Buddhist Women’s Special Marriage Law: imposes disproportionate penalties and gender discriminatory barriers on non-Buddhist men; restricts the rights of nonBuddhist husbands of Buddhist wives, including denying them custody of children in the case of dissolution of marriage or divorce; discriminates against women by placing a number of restrictions only on Buddhist women who wish to marry outside their faith; and provides protection against some forms of domestic violence only for Buddhist women marrying outside of their religion. • The Population Control Healthcare Law: adopts a coercive and selective approach to realising the stated goals of poverty alleviation and improvement of living standards; lacks essential safeguards to ensure freedom from discrimination; and allows township groups to “organize” 1260 couples to practice 36-month birth spacing, raising concerns of coercion. • Religious Conversion Law: establishes a cumbersome and state-regulated system for changing religion, requiring state approval following registration and interview; prevents children from changing their religion. • Monogamy Law: bans polygamy in accordance with international human rights requirements but some provisions adopt a restrictive and discriminatory approach to marriage regulation; makes references to “non-Buddhist persons”; does not prohibit other discriminatory forms of marriage, including early and forced marriages, practised by other population groups. 601. The laws remain in force, but little information is available on their implementation. Some reports indicate that, while the first case brought under the Monogamy law was against a Muslim,1261 many of the following cases were predominantly against Buddhists reported for extramarital affairs.1262 (c) Restrictions related to repairs of houses 602. The applicable legal framework in relation to construction and repairs of buildings is unclear. The Rohingya face many difficulties accessing administrative procedures in this regard, including applications for permits. The informal authorisation of construction and repair of buildings is facilitated by unofficial payments and bribes. These sums are paid to the General Administration Department and the Border Guard Police (and formerly the 1258 1259 1260 1261 1262 142 K-076.15. MMR 4/2014, available at: https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=22569 and 11 May 2015; MMR 5/2015 available at https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=20241. Vague term used in the law. A/70/412, para. 76. V-244.