A/HRC/32/18 positions of authority, facing restrictions in, inter alia, education, the use of minority languages and religious freedom. 6. Myanmar is undergoing significant transformation. In 2011, after decades of military control, the Government embarked on wide-ranging reforms, including the opening up of democratic space. The reforms culminated in historic elections on 8 November 2015, and the transfer of power to a civilian Government on 31 March 2016. Nonetheless, the military retains 25 per cent of seats in Parliament, giving it a de facto veto on any constitutional amendment. Moreover, the Commander-in-Chief appoints the Ministers to the key portfolios of Home Affairs, Border Affairs and Defence. 7. In May 2015, 700,000 individuals from minority communities were disenfranchised (see paras. 46-47 below). Muslim candidates were disqualified from standing for election, and the Parliament currently has no Muslim members. 8. On 15 October 2015, the Government and eight of the more than 20 ethnic armed groups in Myanmar signed a nationwide ceasefire agreement. Nonetheless, armed conflict persists in Kachin and northern Shan States, while sporadic skirmishes have broken out in Chin, Kayin and Rakhine States. The new Government – the most ethnically diverse Government in decades – has proposed a “twenty-first-century Panglong Conference” to advance the peace process. 9. Rakhine State is one of the poorest states in Myanmar, with limited access to basic services and livelihood opportunities for the entire population. There are long-standing grievances between Rohingya Muslims (population of just over 1 million) and Rakhine Buddhists (the “Rakhine”) (around 2 million); and between each community on the one hand and the Bamar-majority-led central Government on the other. Many Rakhine contest the claims of the Rohingya to a distinct ethnic heritage and historic links to Rakhine State, viewing the Rohingya as “Bengali” (“illegal immigrants”), with no cultural, religious or social ties to Myanmar. Some Rakhine also hold the perception that international assistance has focused on the Rohingya, to their detriment. The Rakhine have been subject to longstanding discrimination by past military Governments. Although officially recognized as an ethnic group, the Kaman Muslims in Rakhine State also face entrenched discrimination and other human rights violations (see A/HRC/28/72, para. 41). Since 2012, incidents of religious intolerance and incitement to hatred by extremist and ultra-nationalist Buddhist groups have increased across the country. The Rohingya and other Muslims are often portrayed as a “threat to race and religion”. 10. Against this backdrop, tensions have occasionally erupted into violence. The most recent major outbreak in June and October 2012 led to hundreds of cases of injury and death, the destruction of property and the displacement of 140,000 people (see A/67/383, paras. 56–58, and A/HRC/22/58, paras. 47–48). Around 120,000 individuals remain in camps for internally displaced persons in central Rakhine State, with ongoing segregation between Rakhine and Rohingya communities. 11. Systemic human rights violations and lack of opportunities have triggered irregular migration flows of Rohingya from Rakhine State to Thailand and Malaysia, in the same boats as irregular migrants from Bangladesh. Trafficking and smuggling networks have facilitated these flows.2 More than 94,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshis are believed to have departed since early 2014, with a peak of 31,000 in the first half of 2015.3 In May 2015, Thailand and Malaysia cracked down on international smuggling networks, which led to the 2 3 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Protecting peace and prosperity in Southeast Asia: synchronizing economic and security agendas, February 2016, pp. 37-41. See UNHCR, Mixed Maritime Movements in South-East Asia, 2015. 3