Malaysia had previously been on the HRC from 2006 to 2009 and from 2010
to 2013. This year, Malaysia submitted its candidature for a third term as a
member of the HRC. Regrettably, Malaysia was not elected to the HRC
after receiving the lowest number of votes among the five candidates
from the Asia Pacific region, namely Afghanistan, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan
and Qatar. Malaysia fell short by only one vote behind Afghanistan. The
Commission sees this as an unfortunate break in tradition as Malaysia has
been able, on almost all occasions in the past, to win seats at various UN
bodies it has bid for including the UN Security Council and HRC.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there were several possibilities
that could have contributed to Malaysia’s unsuccessful bid for the HRC
seat such as the strong support afforded to Nepal, which was contesting
for the HRC seat for the first time; the likelihood of sympathy votes given to
Pakistan, which failed in its last bid for the HRC seat; as well as the relatively
late announcement of Malaysia’s candidature to the HRC. While these could
have all been valid reasons, the Commission is of the view that Malaysia’s
inability to secure a seat at the HRC was an eventuality that could have
stemmed from an amalgam of other factors and circumstances.
For instance, in comparison to the other four countries, Malaysia’s track
record in terms of accession to core international human rights treaties is the
least impressive with only three treaties to which it is a party. Although the
number of human rights treaties a country is a party to is not a measurement
for its human rights performance, it does denote, to some extent, the
country’s commitment to international human rights standards.
In addition, there is a considerable delay in the submission of Malaysia’s
periodic reports to the relevant treaty bodies. Malaysia submitted its
combined third to fifth report to the CEDAW Committee in September 2016,
which was several years after its due date. Malaysia has yet to submit its
combined second to fourth report to the CRC Committee and its first report
to the CRPD Committee, respectively. Whereas such delay in the submission
of periodic reports to treaty bodies is not uncommon even for other countries,
it certainly does not bolster Malaysia’s image as a country that gives priority
to its human rights treaty obligations.
52
S UH A KA M A N N UA L R E P O R T 2 0 1 7