COMMENT | Cautiously optimistic of new human rights pledges

COMMENT | The Coalition of Malaysian NGOs in the Universal Periodic Review Process (Comango) congratulates Malaysia on participating in the Fourth Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in January 2024, where it received 348 recommendations.

The recommendations encompass a range of longstanding and emerging issues on civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, and on diverse marginalised groups. Of the 348 recommendations, 182 were accepted while 41 were partially accepted.

The UPR is a mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Council, in which each member state undergoes a peer review of its human rights records every 4.5 years. Other member states provide recommendations to the state under review, and the state under review can decide whether to accept, partially accept, or note the recommendations received.

Once the decision regarding the recommendations is made, the state under review will then have till the next UPR cycle to implement these recommendations.

We commend the Malaysian government’s acceptance of recommendations on institutional reform to establish an ombudsman to check upon the executive, and to set up permanent independent bodies such as parliamentary select committees to oversee appointments to oversight institutions...