THE RIGHT TO HEALTH IN PRISON: RESULTS OF A NATIONWIDE SURVEY AND REPORT 2.26 At this juncture, the Commission wishes to point out that it has recommended on several occasions that the Government accede to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Although torture is a heinous act perpetrated by humankind on fellow human beings, Malaysia remains among the only 2830 United Nations Member States who has not acceded to the CAT. The Right to Health in the Region 2.27 The ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD)31 has placed important safeguards in ensuring that it is in line with global standards for human rights, particularly reaffirming the adherence and commitment of ASEAN to the ASEAN Charter, the UDHR, and the Charter of the United Nations, among others. 2.28 Article 29(1) of the AHRD reaffirms the right to health: “Every person has the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical, mental and reproductive health, to basic and affordable health-care services, and to have access to medical facilities.” The Right to Health in the Malaysian Legal Context 2.29 The Prisons Department of Malaysia is guided by several laws and regulations including, but not limited to, the Prison Act 1995,32 Prison Rules & Regulations 200033 and Standing Orders of the Director General of Prisons. 2.30 Reference is also made to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (SMR)34. Key components of prison medical services are found in Articles 22 to 26 of the SMR, which were produced by the WHO and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/CAT/OHCHR_Map_CAT.pdf accessed on 15 April 2016. AHRD accessed via http://aichr.org/documents/ on 16/2/2016 32 Accessed via https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/MONOGRAPH/79097/84890/F286402077/MYS79097.pdf on 16/2/2016 33 Accessed via http://www.prison.gov.my/portal/page/portal/english/undang2_en on 16/2/2016 34 The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (SMR) were initially adopted by the UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in 1955, and approved by the UN Economic and Social Council in 1957. The Rules were most recently adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 17 December 2015, and are now known as the Mandela Rules in honour of the former South African President Nelson Mandela. Accessed via: http://www. penalreform.org/wp-content/uploads/1957/06/ENG.pdf on 16/2/2016 30 31 23