The finding of the thematic study on “Deaths in Police Custody: A Study on the Conditions of Lock-Ups and Factors Contributing to Death” conducted by the Commission that there were 255 cases of death reported from 20002014, two of which were due to police misconduct while the rest were attributed to various reasons including health issues and suicide. ii) The Malaysian Government’s reluctance to accede to the CAT, due to the existing implementation of whipping by the authorities and caning in schools, both of which are considered forms of ill-treatment under the Convention. iii) The need for Malaysian authorities to move away from a punitive measures such as whipping and caning toward a more rehabilitative approach to crime control. iv) The need for domestic security-related laws to be amended if Malaysia were to accede to the CAT as these laws allow the authorities to undertake whatever means necessary to extract information from detainees. v) The Commission and the EAIC provide two important channels for members of the public to lodge their complaints on alleged violations or misconduct by the authorities. vi) The need for Malaysia to create a culture of human rights for all, including minority groups, leaving no room for extremism to exist. CHAPTER 2 i) While the joint campaign has started to gained attention amongst members of the public (compared to the initial period after its launching in June 2015), the campaign as a whole is still far short of its goal of advocating for Malaysia’s accession to the CAT towards promoting a torture-free nation. Apparently many stakeholders in the country are still not aware of the Convention and of their respective roles in preventing acts of torture or ill treatment. This prompted the Commission and its partners to conduct a strategy session on 22 August to review their campaign strategies with the aim of enhancing the effectiveness of the campaign. The strategy session, which was facilitated by Ms Shazeera Zawawi from the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT), led to the identification of several key steps for reform, such as the translation of the CAT into local languages to promote better understanding among all groups about the Convention; the development of key messages to convey the focus of the campaign; the strengthening of coordination and partnership; the enhancement of campaign identity and visibility through rebranding and effective publicity; as well as the development of strategic engagement with targeted groups. The Commission and its partners are optimistic that these new approaches will help to raise greater awareness among various stakeholders on the importance of acceding to the CAT, with a view towards eliminating and preventing acts of torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment in Malaysia. SUHAKAM ANNUAL REPORT 2016 79 suhakam 2new.indd 79 3/23/17 5:54 PM