CHAPTER 2 At the time of writing, 160 out of 193 UN Member States have ratified the CAT and 10 Member States have signed the Convention, while 27 Member States including Malaysia has still not acceded to the Convention. Although in the last Universal Periodic Review (UPR) there were recommendations for Malaysia to accede to the CAT, the Government clarified that it was not in a position to immediately sign and ratify the Convention. The Commission is also aware of the concern of some Government agencies that some provisions of the UNCAT are incompatible with national laws, policies, and practices. Nevertheless, the Commission is of the view that this should not be seen as a hindrance for Malaysia to ratify or accede to the Convention. The Commission shares the opinion of Claudio Grossman, the former Chairperson of the UN Committee Against Torture: States should see ratification as the start of a process which brings them into compliance with obligations over time, through the mechanisms described in the Convention. Therefore, the Government should instead see ratification or accession as the basis for achieving gradual improvement in laws and policies, with a view towards demonstrating the country’s commitment to promote and protect human rights at the domestic level. The Commission is optimistic that the Government could overcome the perceived obstacles to ratification with assistance from the Commission, civil society, as well as the international community, particularly the Convention Against Torture Initiative (CTI), a global initiative spearheaded by the Governments of Chile, Denmark, Ghana, Indonesia, and Morocco to assist States on matters pertaining to ratification and implementation of the CAT and its Optional Protocol. No country should condone acts of torture or ill-treatment. The primary aim of the CAT is to protect individuals from harm caused by a State or its agents, including law enforcers. In order to avoid any negative stamp on Malaysia’s seriousness to combat torture especially in light of the custodial death cases in Malaysia, the Commission deems it necessary for Malaysia to prove by example, through its accession to the CAT, that it is deeply committed to fighting impunity with regard to crimes against humanity, such as torture and inhuman and/ or degrading treatment; as well as to preventing such acts through effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures. 2. HUMAN RIGHTS AND TECHNOLOGIES The Commission and the School of Information Technology (SIT), Monash University Malaysia, continued their partnership to promote human rights through technologies as outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on 20 October 2015. Both parties continued to work on their three ongoing joint 80 SUHAKAM ANNUAL REPORT 2016 suhakam 2new.indd 80 3/23/17 5:54 PM