The Malaysian Insight

MALAYSIA has yet to submit any child rights status reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) since 2006, a group said today.

The Child Rights Coalition Malaysia (CRCM) said Putrajaya ratified the UNCRC in 1995 under obligations that includes submitting a status report every five years.

Suhakam commissioner in charge of children affairs Professor Noor Aziah Mohd Awal said the coalition was told that this year, the government would finally send its report to the UNCRC.

“But so far, nothing has been done,” she said.

“I believe that the government should not delay in sending the report and should be able to report on (Malaysia’s) various achievements in upholding children’s rights.

“If the government is waiting to perfect the report, I do not know what ‘perfect’ means, and I worry that it will not be sent at all,” Noor Aziah said.

The status report is a general summary of the country’s legislation, protections and jurisdictions in place to ensure children’s rights.

It also compiles the challenges and constraints to boost children right’s and efforts and achievements in resolving such issues.

Noor Aziah said she hopes the shadow report will “pave the way for the government to (send its official report) as soon as possible”.

The CRCM, meanwhile, has prepared and submitted shadow status reports to the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, with this year’s report released today.

The 134-page report compiles experiences faced by various clusters of children in Malaysia, from refugee children, abused children to children living in poverty.

Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff was present at the virtual launch held in conjunction with International Child Abuse Prevention Day and World Children’s Day.

Meanwhile, Unicef representative Sarah Norton said at the launch webinar that her agency met the ministry in September and extended its help.

“The ministry said that, with all the competing demands on its time, it wants to do a good and comprehensive job, which it has found challenging.

“It is a time-consuming task and includes many sensitive issues.”

Norton said other countries have faced difficulty submitting the reports as well, particularly since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. – November 19, 2020.