 |
| Ms Juanita seated next to Tan Sri Simon |
The UN system in Malaysia is
represented by the UN Country Team (UNCT) - 10 resident agencies and five
non-resident agencies, programmes and funds.
The mandate for human rights is held by the Office of the High Commission
for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Bangkok.
In Malaysia, there is a UN
Human Rights and Development Theme Group comprising the UN Refugee Agency
(UNHCR), UN Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF), UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Labour Organisation
(ILO).
CSOs
and the UPR
In 2013, there were 28
submissions for the UPR from various stakeholders such as civil society
organisations (CSO) and NGOs, reflecting a growing strength of the NGO movement
in Malaysia. The OHCHR compiles all submissions into a single report and it is
important to note, that the stakeholders' report does not contain opinions, judgments,
suggestions or determinations by the OHCHR.
The same applies to the UN information compiled by the OHCHR.
Hence, what NGOs and CSOs
would normally do following this, would be to lobby the issues with member
states as the UPR process is a member state driven process and it really
depends on them, and requires action from these member states. Some NGOs organise reviews a month or two
before the actual UPR process. The
process provides the opportunity for each state to declare what actions they
have taken to improve human rights situation in their country and to fulfil
their human rights obligations. The
process reminds them of their responsibility towards human rights in their
respective countries. The UPR is not legally binding but does make countries
accountable.
Malaysian
Government & UPR
There is commitment on the
part of the government. The government
has formed a technical committee to study and ratify the remaining core
conventions. From our understanding.
the department under the Minister in the PM’s department in charge of law, is
conducting studies and undertaking research in relation to the national human
rights action plan. The UN would like to
see a good connection between the Plan and the outcome of UPR process.
Post
UPR & Malaysia
UN is pleased that the
Malaysian government had invited the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food
in December 2013, whose focus areas include social protection and labour,
purchasing power and issues related to development projects and the environment.
The UN Special Rapporteur on
Minority Rights was in Malaysia, although not on an official basis, she met
with several high ranking officials of government.
In implementing human rights
obligations under the conventions and treaties that Malaysia has ratified, the
various UN agencies engage with relevant ministries to encourage them to get
their reports done on time.
It would be good to have
mechanisms in place to monitor and engage the
government during the post-UPR period.
There is a need to increase the level of human rights awareness in
Malaysia in order for the UPR to work.-----------------------
Thoughts shared at the Proham Discussion on the UPR and Malaysia on Oct 22, 2013. The thoughts have been documented by Ms Susan Tan on behalf of Proham
No comments:
Post a Comment