The Chairman also reminded the Government of its commitment and statement at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), namely ‘‘ appropriate steps are being taken to recommend the accession to CAT...” and expressed his hope that the Government would realize the pledge made at that international platform for the benefit of the people in the country. According to the Chairman, accession to the CAT would solidify the implementation of those human right treaties to which Malaysia is already a party, namely the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) , the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The Chairman, however, expressed his disapproval with the Government’s reservations on article 15 of the CRPD and article 37 of the CRC, both of which prohibit torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In the Chairman’s view, these reservations were extremely unnecessary and should be removed as they may defeat the purposes of those Conventions in protecting the groups concerned from physical and mental tortures and violence. On a more positive note, the Chairman welcomed the Government’s plan to remove the imposition of whipping on children under the Child Act 2001, and to replace this punishment with community service. The plan can be seen as a move that is in line with the principles found in the CAT. The Chairman went on to state that SUHAKAM was very pleased with the Government’s announcement early this year to accede to the Rome Statute, which to some extent shares some common principles with the CAT, as such accession would constitute a major step towards the elimination of torture and other acts of cruelty, as well as a form of acknowledgement by the state that the act of torture must not be condoned and tolerated. Finally, the Chairman urged for the collaboration and cooperation among stakeholders in the move to accede the CAT with the view to ultimately abolish all forms of torturous treatment and punishment in the country. In order to realize this goal, the Chairman said that it was fundamental that the human rights principles were adhered to, protected and upheld by everyone. 3