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.
