During a meeting in Copenhagen on June 8, Myanmar's Social Welfare Minister Win Myat Aye informed a group of diplomats, analysts, and members of a commission chaired by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan that eight recommendations, including one calling for amendments to the 1982 law, were not feasible in the current political climate and could not be immediately implemented, according to sources present. One attendee stated that Win Myat Aye clearly stated that citizenship reform was not possible. The sources requested anonymity as Myanmar had asked for the discussions to remain confidential. Both Win Myat Aye and government spokesman Zaw Htay did not respond to requests for comments. The amendment of the 1982 law, which limits citizenship to members of the "national races," the 135 ethnic groups recognized by the state as indigenous, was a significant recommendation of the Annan commission. The Buddhist-majority country of Myanmar does not consider the Rohingya people to be an indigenous ethnic group, instead referring to them as "Bengalis", a term the Rohingya reject as it suggests they are outsiders from Bangladesh, despite having a long history in Myanmar. The Annan commission, established by Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 2016, aimed to address deep-rooted ethnic and religious divisions in Rakhine. Following the release of the commission's report in August 2017, Rohingya militants launched attacks on security forces, leading to a military crackdown that the UN has condemned as ethnic cleansing. Win Myat Aye, who is in charge of reconstruction efforts in conflict-stricken Rakhine state, admitting doubts about the feasibility of repatriating the roughly 700,000 Rohingya refugees currently living in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh. Many Rohingya refugee leaders insist on guarantees of citizenship before they will consider returning to Myanmar. Myanmar's National Security Adviser Thaung Tun stated that authorities are diligently carrying out the recommendations of the Annan commission as quickly and thoroughly as possible. He mentioned that more than 80 recommendations have already been implemented in less than 10 months and those that have not been implemented are currently under review. Reports from refugees have detailed atrocities such as killings, burnings, looting, and rape committed by Myanmar security forces and Buddhist vigilantes in Rakhine. Myanmar has denied allegations of ethnic cleansing and dismissed most reports of atrocities. In January, Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed to repatriate the refugees within two years, but disagreements have delayed the process. Many Rohingya refugees refuse to return unless changes are made to the 1982 law. Those who identified as Rohingya were not included in Myanmar's 2014 census and many had their identity documents confiscated, preventing them from voting in the 2015 election. Suu Kyi, who once advocated for reviewing the law, is now encouraging Rohingya to accept the National Verification Card, which does not grant full citizenship. However, a number of Rohingya individuals are reluctant to accept the document, arguing that it categorizes long-time residents as new immigrants and restricts their ability to travel freely. The military, which Suu Kyi shares power with, firmly denies Rohingya demands for citizenship. In a speech given in March, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing stated that Rohingya do not share any characteristics or culture with Myanmar's ethnic groups and blamed the conflict on the Bengalis' request for citizenship. During the Copenhagen meeting, diplomats were on the verge of taking a lunch break when Win Myat Aye mentioned that Myanmar had implemented only 80 out of the 88 recommendations put forth by the commission, citing political and practical disagreements with the remaining eight. One attendee reported that Annan asked for clarification on which specific recommendations were causing difficulties. Let's revisit this discussion after the break," Win Myat Aye then outlined the recommendations that Myanmar was having difficulty implementing. These recommendations included setting up an independent body to address complaints about citizenship verification, empowering community leaders and civil society, and creating a feedback mechanism for government performance. "When diplomatic language describes something as challenging, it is usually a form of rejection," explained the second source. "That is how I interpreted this."