OFFICE OF THE CHILDREN’S COMMISSIONER OVERVIEW The Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC) was created in September 2019 following the appointment of the first Children’s Commissioner (CC). The OCC, which has been fully functional since May 2020, has three full-time officers (one Grade N48 and two Grade N41) and a clerk (Grade N19). The OCC mirrors SUHAKAM’s organisational structure and division of work. There are three portfolios: advocacy and advisory; education and promotion; and complaints and monitoring. Although the portfolio is divided into three divisions, its functions are carried out based on thematic issues instead of the divisions. The OCC’s nine focus areas are stateless children, education, child marriage, removal of reservations in the CRC, the reformation of the Child Act, alternatives to detention (ATD), sexual and reproductive health education and safety at Tahfiz schools, and the establishment of a Children’s Consultative Council. The last area is complaints and monitoring. 1. STATELESSNESS AMONG CHILDREN Statelessness is a delicate and complicated issue in Malaysia. Many are confused by the different categories of statelessness. Stateless children should be dealt with according to their own category, that is, genuine cases of stateless children, refugees, migrants and undocumented immigrants. Based on three online consultations organised by OCC with government bodies and NGOs on 16 June (Sabah), 7 July (Sarawak) and 28 July (Peninsular Malaysia), there are three main reasons for stateless children in Malaysia. They are: i. Unregistered births from irregular marriages (discrimination against children born out of wedlock); ii. Inconsistent NRD procedures at the district and state level; 90 ANNUAL REPORT 2020