4.2. Rights of Children The Government made a significant move towards enhancing the rights of children with the appointment of a Children’s Commissioner in August 2019. The Office of the Children’s Commissioner is an independent office responsible for empowering and safeguarding the rights of children as set out in CRC. However, the Government remains reserved on the issue of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)/Female Circumcision (FCr) as FGM/FCr is under the purview of the National Fatwa Committee. The main concern on FGM/FCr is regarding the Fatwa issued in April 2009, which makes it obligatory for Muslim women to undergo FCr, a common practice among Malay Muslim communities and a small percentage within the indigenous people. Recommendations: ● Raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 for women and men in civil and Sharia marriages. ● Provide compulsory and comprehensive sexuality education in schools. ● MoH and medical experts to play an important role on this issue by ensuring dissemination of knowledge on the position of FGM/FCr among all levels of the community. ● The National Fatwa Committee to revisit its fatwa on female khitan. 4.3. Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) As of January 2023, there are 637,537 PWDs who are registered with the Social Welfare Department. This may not accurately reflect the number of PWDs due to general ignorance and reluctance to register. The Government announced that the amendments to the Persons With Disabilities Act 2008 [Act 685] is expected to be finalised in 2023. Recommendation: ● The amendments to Act 685 should include the provisions on enforcement, penalties, and remedies, to address non-compliance. 4.4. Rights of Indigenous Peoples Disputes over land rights of indigenous peoples in Malaysia persist and resulted in several conflicts and court cases between indigenous peoples and the businesses and/or State Governments. 7