NOVEMBER 7 — Malaysia’s third Universal Period Review (UPR) will take place on November 8, 2018 in Geneva. The UPR is a UN mechanism wherein states review the human rights situation of other states and make recommendations. In anticipation of the review, several countries have posed advanced written questions to Malaysia.
The United Kingdom has asked the Malaysian government when it plans to consider legislation to promote and protect gender rights, including a Gender Equality Act, and legislation to address sexual harassment and stalking. The government must demonstrate its commitment to fulfil its obligations to end violence and discrimination against women, and accept and follow through on the relevant recommendations received during the UPR process.
Pass a Gender Equality Act
On August 16, 2018, the government announced its plan to establish a Parliamentary Select Committee to examine issues around gender equality, and simultaneously announced that a Gender Equality Act was being drafted with input from NGOs and other stakeholders.
It is imperative that such act not only define gender discrimination and prohibit acts of direct and indirect discrimination in both the public and private sector, but also create specialised institutions to investigate and consider complaints of gender equality.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong announced that the Gender Equality bill is one of the bills the government is looking to introduce. We applaud the government’s recognition of the need for a Gender Equality Act and urge the government to share with the public their timeline for the adoption of such an act.
The UN Cedaw Committee also advised the government to provide a concrete timeline for the adoption of a Gender Equality Act pursuant to its 2018 review of Malaysia.
Enact a Sexual Harassment Act
Currently, the legal protections against sexual harassment are limited to the employment context and only apply to Peninsular Malaysia. The Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG), a coalition of 13 women’s human rights groups, has drafted a Sexual Harassment Act that applies to all of Malaysia, affords protection to individuals harassed in various contexts, requires both public and private sector actors to formulate a proactive policy on sexual harassment, and includes provisions for an independent tribunal to hear complaints, as well as an Interim Protection Order for victims.
Along with legislation on gender equality, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong also announced that a bill on sexual harassment is among the bills the government plans to introduce. The government should provide a timeline for the adoption of such an act and move expediently to ensure that women’s right to be free from the violence, intimidation, and discrimination that comprise sexual harassment is upheld.
Criminalise stalking
The legal framework in Malaysia currently affords little protection for victims of stalking, which can happen in isolation in addition to often being an extension of domestic violence or sexual harassment. We must pass a comprehensive law to criminalise stalking and provide victims of stalking protection, such as through a restraining order.
Meaningfully participate in the UPR process
Although the UPR process is one of peer review and therefore not binding in the same way as the UN conventions, the UPR mechanism is based on the work of the treaty bodies and can be used to follow up on concluding observations or recommendations. When a country is reviewed under the UPR, every 4 ½ years, other states make recommendations which are then accepted or noted by the country under review.
As with all of the international human rights mechanisms, the UPR process should be one of progressive realisation—rather than remaining stagnant or moving backwards in upholding of human rights, states should strive to continuously improve.
or Malaysia to meaningfully engage in the UPR process and continue to improve the state of women’s human rights in the country, it must be willing to accept any recommendations made on issues of gender equality and violence and discrimination against women, and to diligently work to implement these recommendations until the next review cycle.
Uphold our commitments under Cedaw and other international law
The question posed by the UK to Malaysia in advance of the upcoming UPR review echoes the concerns of the Cedaw Committee as articulated in their 2018 Concluding Observations to Malaysia. Cedaw is the UN convention articulating women’s human rights and states’ corresponding obligations to protect and promote them.
The Cedaw Committee called on the Malaysian government to adopt a concrete timeline for the adoption of the Gender Equality Act, as well as to adopt a comprehensive law on sexual harassment to enable complainants to seek redress without the time, cost, and public nature of going to court. The Committee also recommended the adoption of concrete measures to combat gender-based violence against women and girls, of which stalking is one form.
We hope that the new Malaysian government will take a proactive approach during its upcoming UPR review and commit to taking concrete measures to end violence and discrimination against women and promote gender equality.
* Tan Heang-Lee is the Women's Aid Organisation advocacy and communications o fficer
** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
