Other issues faced by indigenous peoples include poverty, lack of access to
basic needs including access to education, healthcare services and medicine,
sanitation, and basic infrastructures.
Recommendations:
● Take necessary steps towards progressively achieving the full
realization of the economic and social rights of the indigenous peoples
as provided under Article 21 UNDRIPv, including accession to ICESCR.vi
● To implement recommendations from SUHAKAM’s National Inquiry on
Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
4.5.
Rights of Migrant Workers, Refugees and Stateless Persons
From 2020 - 2022, SUHAKAM organised four stakeholder consultations, on
forced labour issues in key industries such as manufacturing, plantation,
construction, and medical supply. The stakeholders shared their concerns and
challenges in addressing forced labour issues.
SUHAKAM observed incidents of racist and xenophobic remarks from the
public towards refugees and migrant workers and the negative portrayals of
migrants, undocumented or irregular migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers
as a threat to the safety and security of the country, especially during and post
COVID-19.
There remains an alarming number of stateless persons in Malaysia and the
conditions that cause statelessness. Experiences of stateless persons vary
when compared between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah. SUHAKAM observed
that among the reasons for statelessness in Malaysia was a lack of knowledge
of the importance of legal documents, lack of access to registration services,
inconsistent administrative issues in obtaining the documents, nonregistration of the parents’ marriages, no proof of birth or abandonment of
the child without identification documents and information about their
background, and gaps in nationality laws.
Recommendations:
● Establish a structured and informal consolidatory body to ensure better
coordination led by SUHAKAM that consists of multi-stakeholders from
Government, non-government and private sectors to address forced
labour issues.
● Improve the workers’ recruitment manual by including SUHAKAM as a
channel to lodge complaints.
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