Suhakam chairman Razali Ismail says it is crucial for Malaysia to accept that there is no law in Malaysia which governs the act of enforced disappearances perpetrated or done with the authorisation, support or acquiescence of the state.
“Furthermore, the present criminal laws in Malaysia do not provide for any remedy in cases where the disappearance involved state actors or agents.
“As such, cases of alleged enforced disappearances are often classified as cases of missing persons, abduction or kidnapping.
“Families of victims of enforced disappearance are left with no effective remedy under the present laws,” he said at a regional conference on enforced disappearances here.
CED has been ratified by 53 states to date.
It aims to protect the rights of any person not to be subjected to enforced disappearance, and the right of victims to justice and to reparation. It also seeks to affirm the right of any victim to know the truth about the circumstances of an enforced disappearance and the fate of the disappeared person.
Razali said Malaysia should accept the CED as a responsible member of the United Nations.
It says Malaysia has only acceded to three major international human rights treaties, namely the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
He said the enforced disappearances were never highlighted as an issue until the recent disappearances of Pastor Raymond Koh, Amri Che Mat and Joshua Hilmi and his spouse, Ruth Hilmi, which have been circulating in news portals and the media.
“Before these disappearances, there was another disappearance that was widely reported about Bruno Manser, a Swiss environmental activist who stayed with the Penan community in Sarawak. It was reported that he was involved in organising blockades against logging activities in Sarawak.
“His disappearance remains a mystery until today and there is no evidence to claim it is a case of enforced disappearance.”
Razali also urged the government to disclose the number of alleged cases or complaints of enforced disappearance in Malaysia as currently there are no official statistics or data available.
He said the authorities are obliged to give the victims’ family members justice and not let them be in the dark.
He also mentioned the consistent usage of preventive and security laws which allows preventive detention under the Security Measures (Special Measures) Act 2012, Prevention of Terrorism Act 2015 and Prevention of Crime 1959.
These may constitute an enforced disappearance, especially in instances where the whereabouts of those detained are not revealed and these detainees are denied access to legal counsel and their families.
“Nevertheless, the current security laws in Malaysia provide for designated areas where persons are detained, and certain conditions and requirements when detaining such persons. These are in line with Article 17 of CED.
“Hence, the ratification of the CED will help to further strengthen and act as a check and balance to ensure that these security laws are adequate in combating the practice of enforced disappearance and safeguarding the human rights of all individuals.”
He also added that the government must conduct an independent investigation on all enforced disappearance cases reported and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Rule of law must prevail and there is no place for a culture of impunity in Malaysia, he said.