International Coordination
Division
The work of the Commission, as a national human rights institution (NHRI), would
not be thorough without having a stake in the international dimension of human
rights promotion and protection. The international human rights system – made
up of a vast web of international human rights law, UN bodies and mechanisms
and as well as regional instruments – plays an important part in leveraging how
human rights issues are dealt with at the national level. Similarly, efforts made at
the domestic front may also have implications on the advancement of human
rights in other parts of the world. In this light, the Commission finds it necessary
to also dedicate its energy to engage with human rights mechanisms at both
regional and international levels. The year 2017 witnessed a number of significant
events relevant to the Commission’s work in this regard, that are worth reflecting
on. In this chapter, the Commission seeks to examine and comment on some
of those events.
1.
THE PLIGHT OF THE ROHINGYAS
The plight of the Rohingyas continues to become a matter of serious concern
for the international community and for Malaysia. The dire human rights
situation facing the Rohingya community in the Rakhine State of Myanmar
deteriorated dramatically in the last quarter of 2016 and further exacerbated
in August and September 2017 as a result of the heavy-handed actions taken
by the Myanmar authorities including the military in response to attacks
by insurgents against government security posts. Such violent response,
which is believed to be part of a wider and systematic state-sponsored
campaign against the Rohingya population in Myanmar, has led to the
displacement of more than half a million persons and egregious human rights
violations against the Rohingyas including extrajudicial killings, enforced
disappearance, arbitrary detention, rape and other forms of sexual violence,
torture and discrimination. In the wake of these horrific humanitarian and
human rights circumstances, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres
has called upon the Myanmar government to immediately end its military
operations against the Rohingyas.
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