CEDAW/C/MMR/CO/4-5 owing to conflict in certain rural areas. It also notes with concern reports of forced evictions from land, mainly by the military, with that land then granted to foreign companies under concession. 43. The Committee recommends that the State party eliminate all barriers that restrict the participation of rural women in policy formulation and expand programmes aimed at facilitating their access to education, employment and health care in order to promote their economic empowerment. The Committee also recommends that the State party ensure effective consultations with affected communities before granting concessions to companies or third parties for the economic exploitation of lands and territories traditionally occupied or used by women, and that it secure the free, prior and informed consent of the women affected. Women in northern Rakhine State and other ethnic minorities 44. The Committee, recalling its previous concluding observations (see CEDAW/C/MMR/CO/3, para. 42), notes with concern that the situation of women in northern Rakhine State has not improved. The Committee is particularly concerned: (a) That the protracted displacement of women and girls, mainly of Kaman and Rohingya background, has led to their living under oppressive conditions with limited access to basic services, including education, employment and health care, and restricted their ability to move freely; (b) That local requirements that women and girls receive permits before travelling place undue restrictions on their movement, which poses significant obstacles for women and girls in gaining access to education, hea lth care and emergency medical care and other basic services; (c) That women and girls are subjected to acts of gender-based violence in the context of armed conflict and communal violence; (d) That, owing to legislation and local orders, women face restrictions on pregnancy and child spacing, such that they are limited to a maximum of two children and must adhere to a spacing between births of at least 36 months; (e) That limited access to birth registration and identification papers, combined with the application of the outdated Citizenship Law of 1982, renders many women and girls virtually stateless; (f) That women and girls are vulnerable to trafficking and smuggling owing to a lack of basic services and undue restrictions on their movement; (g) That notwithstanding the nationwide ceasefire agreement, attacks continue to take place that adversely affect women and girls, including recent attacks on a mosque, a Muslim cemetery and other properties in the Bago region in central Myanmar, as well as a Muslim prayer hall in Kachin State in northern Myanmar; (h) That, notwithstanding the holding of the Twenty-first Century Panglong Peace Conference in August 2016 and the establishment of a national committee on peace and reconciliation chaired by the State Counsellor, there is no indication that ethnic minority women groups are represented on the national committee. 14/17 16-12871