Un Human Rights Council Seat Malaysia To Know On Thursday

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Malaysia has been a member of the council twice before, from 2006-2009 and 2010-2013. (AP pic)KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will know on Thursday if it is successful in its bid for a seat in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the 2022-2024 term, with the election to be held at the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly.
Foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah said on Friday that Malaysia wanted to be the facilitator for conciliation, enabler for cooperation, and builder of consensus as a member of the UNHRC and is ready to play its role as a constructive partner working closely with member states to advance the global human rights agenda.
Commenting on this, senior analyst at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Harris Zainul said his statement was neither a diplomatic jargon nor empty rhetoric when considering the state of global affairs today.
Harris said that as a member of the council, Malaysia will be able to share its views and thoughts on how it can harmonise human rights with “Asian values”.
“For far too long, Asian non-democratic countries have used the idea of “Asian values” – oftentimes described in terms that justify state oppression and as being incompatible with Western human rights.
“We can, and we must make clear that human rights is not a Western concept, but rather something inalienable to all of humanity,” he said.
He stressed that this was particularly important as the world emerges from the post Covid-19 pandemic phase where a human rights-centred approach will be necessary for all countries to not just recover but recover equitably.
“At home, our potential role at the council can also mean the further mainstreaming of human rights in Malaysia,” he added.
Social activist Lee Lam Thye said that, if Malaysia is successful in securing a seat in the council, it will put the country in a very good position to advocate and speak up on human rights issues all over the world.
“Of course, our first hurdle at the moment is being able to justify to the international body what we have done and what we are doing to address human rights issues and challenges in Malaysia,” he said when contacted by Bernama.
The founding member of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) pointed out Malaysia has made significant progress since the establishment of this organisation in 1999, adding that it has been playing an active and constructive role in upholding justice in cases of human rights violations.
“By having Suhakam, it goes to show that we pay great attention to the question of human rights. It means that we in Malaysia are very concerned about human rights issues,” he said.
Malaysia has been a member of the council twice before, from 2006-2009 and 2010-2013. - FMT

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