Charles Hector cited Thailand and the Philippines as examples of countries with established anti-enforced disappearance laws that Malaysia should consider emulating.
He said the Philippines enacted its Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act in December 2012, and Thailand’s Act on the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance took effect in February 2023.
“The amendments should effectively make it (enforced disappearances) an offence under the Penal Code, in addition to and separate from the offence of abduction and kidnapping,” he said in a statement on behalf of the Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture today.
Hector said such criminalisation is necessary to align with international standards and ensure equal protection under the law, as guaranteed by Article 8(1) of the Federal Constitution.
“When a person has disappeared or is missing, and the police fail to speedily investigate, find them and determine what happened, can we say that the police failed to ensure ‘equal protection of the law’ to the said victims?” he asked.
He urged the government to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED), a United Nations treaty intended to prevent enforced disappearances.
Under Article 6 of the convention, he said, Malaysia should criminally prosecute anyone involved in, ordering or failing to prevent enforced disappearances.
Their superiors should be held accountable if they knowingly disregard or fail to act on such acts committed by their subordinates.
Hector also called on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to disclose the findings of the special task force investigating Suhakam’s claims that police were involved in the disappearances of Pastor Raymond Koh and activist Amri Che Mat.
Suhakam conducted a public inquiry from 2017 to 2019, which concluded that Koh and Amri were victims of enforced disappearances carried out by the Special Branch.
In response, the home ministry formed a special task force to investigate these findings.
Hector also called for renewed investigations into the cases of Koh, Amri, Joshua Hilmy and Ruth Sitepu, all of whom are believed to be victims of enforced disappearances.
“The families of victims of enforced disappearance require closure, they have the right to know whether their loved ones are still alive or dead, and what really happened,” he said.