Suhakam chairperson Hishamudin Yunus expressed hope the government will ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd) during his tenure.

He also hopes for Putrajaya to ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention by 2027 when his term ends.

“There must also be greater understanding about human rights by government agencies, and human rights-friendly policies,” the retired Court of Appeal judge told Free Malaysia Today.

Malaysia is one of only two Muslim-majority countries in the world that have not ratified Icerd - the other being Brunei.

The UN initiated Icerd in 1965 to deal with global racial intolerance but in Malaysia, it was perceived as a threat to the “social contract”.

On Nov 23, 2018, the Pakatan Harapan federal government decided against ratifying Icerd. This was followed by an anti-Icerd rally in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 8, attended by about 80,000.

‘Empower human rights’

Hishamudin said he hopes to oversee Malaysia signing other key international human rights conventions, including the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Convention on Social Economic and Cultural Rights.

Every society must empower human rights, he added.

“Only through such awareness can people whose rights have been violated know that they can submit complaints to Suhakam.

"(This will) enable us to undertake the relevant investigations and submit relevant recommendations to the government or related bodies,” he said.

He previously urged the government to apologise for the infamous Ops Lalang, which saw the detention of over 100 activists, journalists and opposition politicians under the Internal Security Act.

On July 3, Hishamudin, 74, was named the Suhakam chairperson for a three-year term.

He replaced Suhakam’s previous chair Rahmat Mohamad who voluntarily resigned effective Aug 31, leaving the position vacant for 10 months.

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