Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi condemned a policy,on Monday, by a district government, to limit Muslim Rohingya families to two children in an effort to curb their population growth.
The two-child policy dates back to 1994, but only recently appear to have been enforced.
"They shouldn't discriminate. This is against human rights," Suu Kyi told.
An estimated 800,000 Rohingya live in Rakhine State in the west of Myanmar. Many of the Buddhist majority in the country consider them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and the government refuses to grant them citizenship.
Reamrks from Nobel Peace Prize-winner Suu Kyi came after criticism from world around against deep silence from the pro-democracy champion, regarding the subject, and even after clashes with Rakhine State Buddhists last year in which at least 192 people were killed and 140,000 made homeless.
Majority of the victims were from Rohingya and remain in camps as they are not allowed to leave.
The Arakan Project, an organization that lobbies for the rights of Rohingya, said in a 2012 report the two-child policy was not enforced after it was introduced 19 years ago.
A commission appointed to look into last year's violence recommended in an April 29 report that if the government went ahead with a proposed family planning program, it should "refrain from implementing non-voluntary measures which may be seen as discriminatory or that would be inconsistent with human rights standards".
A senior immigration official, using the term "Bengali" for Rohingya that is widely used by Buddhists, said authorities in Maungdaw District had decided to enforce the directive "following the recommendations in the report".
"Under this directive, Bengali men are allowed to have only one wife and each married couple can have two children. Where there are more than two children, they are considered illegal," he said, asking not to be identified as he is not authorized to speak to the media.
"As far as I know, there are also plans, according to the recommendations, to encourage Muslim women to go to school and to educate them on the benefits of restricting family size."
One government policy that is enforced requires that Rohingya get official permission to marry. Their access to education and employment is limited.
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