Chapter 3 - Report of the Research and Policy Development Group Government should develop a special education plan for those children as currently they are not allowed to attend mainstream schools. (c) CRPD On 25 June, the Commission through RPDD organised an RTD on ‘Penarikan Balik Reservasi kepada CRPD’. The RTD was attended by a total of 20 participants from various agencies including a member of the Senate, representatives from the MoH, NRD, the Attorney’s General Chambers (AGC), the Prison Department, BHEUU, the National Security Council, JKM, MOHA, MWFCD, the Malaysia Bar Council as well as NGOs. This RTD was conducted to: i. Provide an opportunity and a platform for participants to discuss in depth, as well as to share their thoughts on, the remaining reservations to CRPD; ii. Obtain a clear stand on the remaining reservations to CRPD; and iii. Formulate practical recommendations which can be adopted by the Government in relation to these reservations. Based on the RTD, the Commission took note that: i. Most of the participants agreed that the reservation to Article 15 of the CRPD (on inflicting torture or inhuman and degrading treatment against PWD) should be withdrawn by the Government; ii. The participants were concerned about the absence of specific provisions in our domestic laws pertaining to offences which amount to torture as well as degrading and inhuman treatment; iii. The Government needs to clearly understand the nature and scope of the provisions of the Convention as well as provide detailed explanations regarding any declarations or reservations entered into by Malaysia; iv. The issue of citizenship as stipulated in Article 18 of the CRPD is a key element of the Government’s rationale for its reservation. The participants also agreed that the Government is consistent in its reservations concerning the issue of citizenship as Malaysia has made similar reservations to the CRC and CEDAW; and v. There are still some people who are not aware of the importance of registration as PWD as well as the benefits provided by the Government. On 18 August, the Commission was invited to attend ‘Jawatankuasa Teknikal Konvensyen Antarabangsa: CEDAW, CRC dan CRPD’, a meeting convened by the MWFCD in Putrajaya. Subsequently, the Commission was invited again to a follow-up meeting to discuss further the reservations under the CRC and CRPD, on 26 November and 12 December respectively. 73