chairman’s message 1, 13 and 15 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Articles 5(a), 7(b) and 16(2) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women; some improvements in public housing and accessibility to healthcare; and making primary education compulsory. Nonetheless, more needs to be done towards the full adoption and application of international human rights standards. The Commission has perservered in urging the Government to work more energetically towards ratifying the remaining six core human rights treaties; these have not been ratified despite the efforts of the Commission and other human rights groups. The Commission had, as early as 2001, recommended to the Government to develop a National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP), pursuant to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993. In recent years, the Commission has made several efforts to convince the Government of the benefits of a NHRAP in promoting and protecting human rights. Among other measures, the Commission drafted a proposal on a NHRAP and presented it to the Government for its consideration. I am pleased to report that the Government has responded positively to this idea and has appointed a Government focal agency to be responsible for the task of preparing and developing the NHRAP, with which the Commission is working closely. As the process will involve close consultations with the relevant Government agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society, I hope that all those who believe in and value human rights will come forward to make our own NHRAP a reality and a success, so as to enable Malaysia to join the list of other nations that have done so. Nevertheless, any law, policy or recommendation on the protection of human beings would move at snail’s pace and would not be of much significance if society does not change its mindset, perception and approach. Hence, the importance we attach to another aspect of the Commission’s functions – advocating human rights by promoting awareness through research, and conducting conferences, seminars and workshops with the aim of disseminating and inculcating human rights values nationwide. These activities include training on general and specific aspects of human rights for various sectors of society such as lawmakers, the Judiciary, law enforcement officials, NGOs, as well as school administrators, teachers and students, including those at the tertiary level. Over the years, the Commission has carried out a number of Public Inquiries. It has also recommended the repeal of the Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA) and the review of other arbitrary detention legislation; the review of the Printing Presses and Publications Act, Section 27 of the Police Act and the Official Secrets Act, and the abolition of the death penalty and natural life sentence. In continuing these efforts, the Commission is engaging in serious dialogues with the relevant Government agencies with a view to convincing them of the importance of these measures and expediting the process of implementation. In this regard, the Commission welcomes the move to amend the ISA, which it hopes is a first step towards its eventual repeal. The Commission calls upon the Government to ensure that 2