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. 8