KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has made significant strides in its legal and institutional reforms as it continues to prioritise and pursue the whole of society approach in strengthening human rights promotion in the country.
Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Secretary-General for Multilateral Affairs Datuk Bala Chandran Tharman said since 2018, a total of 26 laws and regulations have either been repealed or revised, or new ones developed as the government continues to provide space for the society to exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Notably, this include the abolishment of the mandatory death penalty in July 2023, which entails amendments to seven pertinent laws, underscoring the government’s unwavering commitment to uphold human rights and justice for all in Malaysia.
Malaysia also decriminalised attempted suicides in May 2023, shifting from punitive to compassionate measures in addressing mental health issues.
He said this when presenting Malaysia’s National Report for the Fourth Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday (Jan 25).
Bala Chandran also highlighted to the 45th Session of the UPR Malaysia’s steadfast efforts to protect children, women and the vulnerable groups from exploitation, violence and abuse.
These include enacting the Anti Sexual Harassment Act and the anti stalking law, and amended the Sexual Offences Against Children act in 2023.
“Malaysia has prioritised human rights as fundamental to the country’s development and in uplifting the standard of living for fellow Malaysians.
“The government through the Madani framework is seeking to create a just society with care, compassion, trust, respect for one another,” he said.
He said the National Recommendation Tracking Database, established to implement and monitor progress of human rights recommendations by the Council, has also cultivated stronger ownership and strengthen coordination among government agencies as well as with the non governmental stake stakeholders.
“As a developing country, we will continue to prioritise human rights with development as both are mutually reinforcing and we will do so with the Malaysian Federal Constitution being the guiding instrument.
“As a way forward we will continue to pursue the whole of society approach emphasises on prevention, especially for the protection of vulnerable groups and invest on human rights literacy through awareness raising and capacity building programs,” he said.
This was Malaysia’s fourth review of its human rights record. Previous reviews were in 2009, 2013 and 2018.
Malaysia’s National Report was a collective effort involving a whole-of-society approach, with consultations with various stakeholders, including civil society and the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM).
UPR is an intergovernmental process established under the UN Human Rights Council framework to review the human rights records of each UN Member State once every four and a half years.
It provides an avenue for each State under review to highlight measures and efforts undertaken to improve human rights in its country.
The Council also serves as a peer review platform for all UN Member States to provide recommendations and share best practices in a constructive dialogue to facilitate the promotion and protection of human rights. -Bernama
