PUTRAJAYA will ratify the controversial International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) in its efforts to honour global human rights standards.

Foreign Ministry secretary-general Ramlan Ibrahim said the government is looking at six international conventions, including ICERD, that it has yet to ratify.

“The Malaysian government is committed to acceding to the remaining six international human rights instruments.

“The process towards ratification is being deliberated,” he said when presenting his opening statement at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Malaysia before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

Besides ICERD, the five other conventions are the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; International Convention on the Prevention of Enforced Disappearance; Convention Against Torture; and, International Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families.

The government is also looking to accede to the Rome Statute, and has begun discussions with the attorney-general and Foreign Ministry.

Bernama reported Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah as saying the tabling of UPR has nothing to do with ICERD.

“After UPR, the Foreign Ministry will head a committee to prepare the annual progress report, which is inclusive, to see how much we have achieved in our efforts to uphold basic human rights, what has been put on hold, and what must be done.

“It is not just for UPR, but it is a process to ensure that Malaysia has a good basic rights record compared with before, for the sake of the people and Malaysia’s international record.”

It was reported that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said some ICERD provisions are not suitable for Malaysia.

However, at the UN General Assembly in September, he had said he would ratify all remaining international conventions. – November 8, 2018.