‘Invite UN indigenous peoples' rep to see for himself’

by Hilary Chiew- The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia should invite the United Nations special rapporteur on indigenous issues James Annaya to visit the country to allay criticism of its allegedly poor human rights record with regard to the indigenous community.

Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact Foundation (AIPP) secretary-general Joan Carling urged Malaysia to take up the recommendation by other countries such as Mexico, which raised the matter during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) hearing in Geneva last month.

“Malaysia’s response -- that it is taking good care and recognises the rights of its indigenous peoples -- seemed to suggest that there’s no need for a special rapporteur to visit the country,” she told a press conference here Friday after a two-day gathering of Asian indigenous activists.

She said indigenous groups in Malaysia had long been fighting for their right to their native territories, and these struggles continue today.

Therefore, she said, it is insufficient for Malaysia to adopt the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) -- which it did in September 2007 -- without making real change on the ground to address the land-grab issue affecting many indigenous people, particularly those in Sabah and Sarawak.

Malaysia Indigenous Peoples’ Network president Adrian Lasimbang said many policy-makers are not aware of Malaysian’s adoption of UNDRIP and would be surprised that the country actually supported the commitments undertaken by the non-binding declaration.

“(That’s why) we are still facing all sorts of rights violation brought by development projects that do not consult us or compensate us (for our land loss),” he added.

Carling, who was present at the hearing, said Malaysia was also scrutinised for its poor response to the adoption of other UN human rights instruments.

Non-govermental organisations which submitted their reports on the state of human rights in the country to the Human Rights Council last August had recommended that Malaysia lift its reservations to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Other key recommendations was for Malaysia to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The UPR is a mechanism under the auspices of the Human Rights Council introduced in 2006 which involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN member states once every four years.

Individual governments are given the opportunity to present their self-assessments in an interactive dialogue before the countries of the world. It is designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when their human rights situations are assessed.

Secretary-general in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, Tan Sri Rastam Mohamad Isa, presented the national report on Feb 11.

He was reported to have said Malaysia remained open to the possibility of further discussions with the various special procedures on the proposed visits and was willing to consider such requests on the merit of each proposal.