EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: "The situation in Myanmar?s Rakhine State is driving a regional crisis. Systematic discrim-ination against Rohingya Muslims has contributed to the largest regional outflow of asylum seekers by sea in decades. Humanitarian conditions in Rohingya villages and internally displaced persons (IDP) camps are dire, and Rohingya suffer frequent abuses at the hands of Myanmar authorities. In May 2015, the region was forced to grapple with the results of these conditions, as thousands of Rohingya asylum seekers were stranded on boats in the Andaman Sea, making international headlines. ASEAN leaders met at the time in the hopes of resolving the crisis, but failed to craft a regional response to the drivers of the outflow, which are rooted in Rakhine State. In the months since, these underlying drivers have been compounded by an increasing sense of desperation among Rohingya, driven principally by political exclusion. The disenfranchisement of an estimated one million Rohingya voters, as well as the rejection of dozens of Rohingya parliamentary candidates in advance of the 8 November general election, has led many Rohingya to believe that there is little hope for their future in Myanmar. With no opportunity to take part in perhaps the most consequential election in Myanmar?s history and no hope of any political representation, Rohingya feel they are being forced out of the country. Furthering this perception is the proliferation of anti-Muslim hate speech and sentiment across Myanmar and the government?s failure to address this growing threat. If left unchecked, Buddhist extremists will continue to vilify Rohingya for political purposes, and further episodes of inter-communal violence could erupt in Rakhine State and other areas, driving still more Rohingya to flee their homes. During 2015, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) undertook two fact-finding missions to Myanmar to assess the situation and further investigate the root causes of the Rohingya exodus. APHR?s team of parliamentarians and researchers met with government officials, religious leaders, civil society representatives, and UN agencies, as well as Rohingya and Rakhine community members and IDPs. The findings were clear: ASEAN risks another full-blown crisis as a result of unresolved conditions in Myanmar. Unless serious steps are taken to address the situation of depri-vation and despair in Rakhine State, many Rohingya will have no other option but to flee in search of asylum elsewhere. The next wave of refugees is coming. Tens of thousands of Rohingya have already fled by sea, but nearly a million more are still undergoing heavy persecution throughout Rakhine State. When the remaining Rohingya begin to leave, they will be extremely vulnerable to human trafficking to Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia..."