IT was a historic moment when Malaysia celebrated the launch of its inaugural United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) Report 2024, the first ever report by children in Malaysia to the UNCRC committee. This was in response to the Malaysian government’s state reports submitted in 2021.
The launch was officiated by Human Rights Commission of Malaysia( Suhakam) Dr Farah Nini Dusuki, Children’s Commissioner, on November 30th this year, in conjunction with World Children’s Day 2024. Among the many participants were children from the PJ Child Council, parents and child-centred NGOs, civil service organisations (CSOs) as well as members of the public at a Subang Jaya mall.
Malaysia ratified the UNCRC in 1995.
The newly submitted UNCRC Report 2024 captures the thoughts, feelings, and voices of children from both urban and rural communities, offering a behind-the scenes look at the state of children’s rights in Malaysia.
In the writing of the report, 321 children in Malaysia participated in the UNCRC Children’s Consultations.. Eight locations in 7 states, including Sabah and Sarawak and in Kuala Lumpur were selected as locations. The other five states were Selangor, Perak, Penang, Kelantan and Negeri Sembilan.
The children comprised 45 percent male and 55 percent female, and included the orang asli, refugee children, children with learning disabilities, including the deaf and the blind.
UNCRC awareness
The UNCRC Report 2024 said civil society organisations (CSOs) in Malaysia have played a key role in promoting awareness of UNCRC. They include Suhakam, Childline Foundation, the Child Rights Coalition of Malaysia, PS The Children, Make it Right Movement, ANAK Sabah, Sarawak Women for Women Society, Monsters Amongst Us and many other child-focused CSOs.
During the consultation in Kuala Lumpur, children were asked whether Malaysian children have enough awareness of the UNCRC.
“In my opinion, Malaysian children still didn’t have enough awareness of the UNCRC. Since some Malaysian children may not understand the UNCRC or their rights under it, especially those with limited education or other resources. (From a 17 year old girl from Kuala Lumpur)
“Yes, I would like to present my views on how my school can be more child friendly and safe if given the opportunity by my teachers and headmistress. (from a 15 year old girl in Keningau in Sabah)
Respect on the views of the child
During the consultation in Kuala Lumpur, the issue of lack of children’s voices in Parliament came up. Most of the participants were representatives of child councils located in KL and Selangor.
These children were of the opinion that among the reasons children were not allowed to have voices in Parliament is due to the attitude of adults who think “children and youth are too young to be heard, lack of opportunities and platforms being given, resulting in them not being brave to speak out on issues related to them” (from a 17 year old boy in Kuala Lumpur)
Interviews with children
The consultations were concentrated on the experiences of the children in areas such as school participation, student voices, violence against them, child marriage, mental health, poverty and child labour and in education.
There was a stark contrast between the lives of indigenous children in remote rural villages where there is lack of opportunities for development, education and participation, and their peers in urban areas. It highlights the need to reduce inequalities as per the UN sustainable development goals (SDG10), to foster community-based education (SDG4) and reducing poverty (SDG1) so that children are able to access their rights equally.
Finally, a 16 year old boy from the Petaling Jaya City Council said they were happy to be asked for their views,
“We hope whatever we recommend will be worked on in future to benefit all the children in Malaysia. We enjoyed the sessions and it should be continued. More children should be involved and I hope our voices will be heard by the adults on the things that matter to us.”
