Myanmar (Burma): Inclusion of, and criteria for the determination of, the race and religion of a newborn child in birth certificates issued from 1969 to 1971; authorities responsible for issuing birth certificates; whether a birth certificate is an accepted form of identification

No information on the details included in birth certificates issued from 1969 to 1971 or on the criteria used for establishing such details could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

In 1995 the United Nations published the following in relation to the Convention on the Rights of the Child:

In Yangon and Mandalay, birth certificates are issued to children born at the hospitals operated by the Government; the Township Health Centres issue certificates to those born in the wards. In other cities and towns, health centres and, in some places, a health assistant issues the certificates. In other words, a birth certificate is issued as soon as the child is born and it is classified as a citizen, associate citizen, naturalized citizen or foreigner according to the existing law. The Department of Immigration and Manpower issues the respective registration cards when the child attains 10 years of age.

...Birth/death registration can be implemented only in 153 townships up to 31 March 1994. Thus, affidavits are used as birth certificates for people in remote areas. Plans for registration of births and deaths are being adopted, with the collaboration of UNICEF (UN 18 Sept. 1995, Sec. 58-59).

The United States Department of State provides, in its Foreign Affairs Manual, the information that follows:

After World War II and the insurrections from 1947-1950, birth registration gradually became more regular and common, especially in the cities. From the mid-1950's until the early 1970's compliance with birth registration regulations increased until it is now standard in all but the most remote areas. The variety of birth certificate forms used during the colonial era and afterward can be confusing. [U.S.] Embassy Rangoon will investigate suspect documents sent from other posts.

Applicants born in Rangoon Division may request birth certificates from:

Office of the Divisional Health Director

Yangon Health Division

No.520, West Race Course Road

Yangon, Myanmar

The applicant seeking the certificate must provide a copy of his and/or her identity card and family registration, his and/or her name and aliases, date and place of birth, parents' names, and parents' address at the time of applicant's birth.

There is a fee for the birth entry copy that must be paid in Kyat and may not be legally imported into or exported from Burma. Applicants abroad must have relatives or friends apply for them.

Those born outside Rangoon Division must apply to the Township Medical Officer of the township of their birth, sending the fee and the personal data listed above. If the birth was not recorded or the record was destroyed, the authorities will issue a letter to that effect.

If no birth certificate is available, secondary documents may help establish the fact of birth and the family relationship. The Citizen Verification Card issued to citizens and resident foreigners lists a person's name, aliases, date and place of birth. Some also include the father's name. Township authorities and heads of households keep household registers which show names, birth years and identity card numbers of all persons living in a particular house, and their relationship to the head of the household.

Naturalized and associate citizens cards list the new citizen's spouse and all children born as of the identity card issue date. School diplomas show the name of the graduate's father and marriage certificates list parents' names. Several of these documents taken together can build a credible case for a family relationship. (As a last resort, affidavits from family or friends may be acceptable, but these may be of doubtful reliability.) (United States 2 Aug. 2002)

Please note that the above indicates that to "help establish the fact of birth and the family relationship" in the absence of a birth certificate, one can use the Citizen Verification Card issued to citizens and resident foreigners, since it includes birth information (ibid.). Human Rights Watch reported in 1997 the following:

Every person in Burma must carry at all times his or her identity card. The ID card must be produced in order to obtain a wide range of services and the right to vote, to purchase tickets to travel internally, to stay in hostels or with friends and family outside one's ward of residence, to receive health and educational services and so on. ID cards are also routinely demanded for checking by police and army personnel. Foreigners residing in Burma for more than three months have Foreign Registration Certificates which they must also carry at all times. The ID cards were changed in 1990/91 to a new format, which includes not only the name, address and photo of the holder, but also his or her ethnic origin and religion. From this, anyone checking the card can know what class of citizen the holder is.

Many members of Burma's ethnic minorities who are entitled under the Citizenship Law to be full citizens have no identity cards, especially those who live in areas which were not under government control for long periods. Access to written records, the difficulty of traveling to government-controlled areas for registration, and a general unwillingness of the government to register such people make the process of proving citizenship immensely difficult. Following cease-fire agreements with the ethnic armies, the government has sometimes announced that identity cards will be offered to the families and children of those living within the ethnically controlled areas. For example, in January 1996 it was announced that the SLORC would issue identity cards to residents of the drug baron Khun Sa's base at Homong in Shan state. In October 1996 however, Human Rights Watch/Asia interviewed several former soldiers from Khun Sa's army in Thailand and was told that the ID cards they were given were only temporary and would not been [sic] replaced by the official pink cards. Lahu villagers interviewed at the same time told Human Rights Watch/Asia that despite repeated requests, they had not been able to change their old cards for the new cards, even though the Lahu have had a cease-fire agreement with the government since 1989. Without these cards, they cannot travel freely within Burma or vote, and their children cannot attend high school or university (HRW Jan. 1997, Ch. V).

No references to birth certificates serving similar identification purposes could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

In August 2002 the Myanmar Ministry of Immigration and Population published the following:

1982 Myanmar Citizenship Law was enacted on 15-10-1982 and procedures on Myanmar Citizenship Law on 20-9-1983. After enacting the Myanmar Citizenship Law Citizenship scrutiny Cards were issued to those residing in the country. Citizenship tasks were introduced on 1-3-1985...

According to the Myanmar Citizenship Law 1982, measures have been taken to issue the Citizenship Scrutiny cards to those who are eligible to be Myanmar citizens. Similarly, attention has been given to take measures not to issue Citizenship Scrutiny cards to those who are not eligible to be Myanmar citizens in order to safeguard the Race and Religion of Myanmar (Union of Myanmar 17 Aug. 2002).

The non-governmental organization Prevent Genocide International published the following information on the national identity document of Myanmar:

Name and Document form: National ID Card; Year established: not known, new format in 1990; Status: still in use. Categories and groups : Race and religion appears on ID Cards, but the system of classification is irregular. Ethnic groups include Bamar, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin (Karen), Chin, Mon, Rakhine (Arkan) and Shan as well as Chinese and Indian. Religious categories include Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, and traditional religions. The great majority of the country's 50 million people at least nominally follow Theravada Buddhism. Buddhist monks, including novices, number more than 300,000 persons, about 2 percent of the male Buddhist population. There are minorities of Christians (about 4%, Baptists, Catholics and Anglicans), Muslims (about 4% mostly Sunni), Hindus, and practitioners of traditional Chinese and indigenous religions. Comments: Distinctions are also made for ancestry prior to 1823, including full citizens, associate citizens, and naturalized citizens (21 Jan. 2002).

The United States government Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 1999 states:

Religious affiliation sometimes is indicated on government-issued identification cards that citizens and permanent residents of the country are required to carry at all times. There appear to be no consistent criteria governing whether a person's religion is indicated on his or her identification card.

Nationals are also required to indicate their religions on some official application forms, e.g., for passports (United States 9 Sept. 1999).

The 2002 edition of the same report provides a nearly-identical statement:

Religious affiliation sometimes is indicated on government issued identification cards that citizens and permanent residents of the country are required to carry at all times. There appear to be no consistent criteria governing whether religion is indicated on an identification card. Citizens also are required to indicate their religions on some official application forms, such as, on passports (which have a separate "field" for religion, as well as ethnicity) (ibid. 2002).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Human Rights Watch (HRW), New York. January 1997. Burma: Children's Rights and the Rule of Law. [Accessed 15 Oct. 2002]

Prevent Genocide International, Washington, DC. 21 January 2002. "Global Survey of Group Classification on National ID Cards." [Accessed 15 Oct. 2002]

Union of Myanmar. Ministry of Immigration and Population, Yangon. 17 August 2002. "1982 Myanmar Citizenship Law." [Accessed 23 Oct. 2002]

United Nations (UN), New York. Convention on the Rights of the Child. 18 September 1995. Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 44 of the Convention: Initial Reports of States Parties Due in 1993 – Addendum: Myanmar. (CRC/C/8Add.9) [Accessed 16 Oct. 2002]

United States of America. Department of State, Washington, DC. 2 August 2002. Foreign Affairs Manual – Appendix C: Burma (Myanmar). [Accessed 23 Oct. 2002]

_____. 2002. International Religious Freedom Report 2002. "Burma." [Accessed 15 Oct. 2002]

_____. 9 September 1999. Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 1999. "Burma." [Accessed 15 Oct. 2002]

Additional Sources Consulted

Embassy of the Union of Myanmar, Ottawa.

IRB Databases.

Internet sites and search engines, including:

Amnesty International.

International Organization for Migration (IOM).

UNHCR Refworld.

Government of Myanmar.