ANNUAL REPORT 2019 This recognition shows that our work is important in upholding justice in cases of possible human rights violations, particularly in instances where authorities may be involved, and the cooperation of the government in ensuring that such cases are investigated is vital to the improvement of the nation’s human rights record. Though we maintain a smart partnership with the government, SUHAKAM keeps a close eye on the commitments made by the government and issues statements that publicly express SUHAKAM’s official position pertaining to human rights, as per our mandate and powers spelt out under the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999. Additionally, SUHAKAM has not shirked its duties and continues to execute its mandate through its core programmes: SUHAKAM Bersama Masyarakat (SBM) engagements were held with rural and marginalised communities, ranging from fishermen to farmers, throughout the country; schools participating in the Human Rights Best Practices (HRBP) module, which was developed for primary and secondary school students, increased from 222 schools to 468; and SUHAKAM’s “Judicial Colloquium on Applying International Human Rights Principles/Norms in Judicial Processes” was officiated by then Chief Justice Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Richard Malanjum on 23 March 2019 and attended by more than 100 judges. Awareness and understanding of human rights as something that is universal is progressing well among Malaysians. There are still diverse views on the total abolition of the death penalty or the ratification of the Convention Against Torture (UNCAT) and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), all of which SUHAKAM wholly supports and will continue to advocate for. SUHAKAM paid special attention to UNCAT in 2019, by organising a Regional Dialogue together with the commissioning of cartoons on UNCAT by prominent local cartoonists as part of a project that was funded by the European Union. There is much work that is still required to educate Malaysians on the reality of human rights and human rights work. Nevertheless, SUHAKAM has indeed made strides nationally, regionally and internationally. SUHAKAM signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on issues related to statelessness in Sabah with the National Human Rights Commission of Indonesia (KOMNAS HAM) with The Commission for Human Rights of the Philippines (CHRP) as an observer. SUHAKAM also signed an MoU with the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal (NHRCN) on the issue of migrant workers. xi