Aliran Media Statement
Malaysia Abstains on Torture Protocol Vote
After 10 years of inter-governmental negotiations, United Nations member states finally approved an Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture in a General Assembly vote on 18 December 2002. The result: an overwhelming 127 in favour, 4 against (USA, Nigeria, Palau, Marshall Islands), with 42 abstentions.
Aliran is deeply disturbed and disappointed that Malaysia is surprisingly one of those unenlightened 42 nations that abstained on this crucial vote. We fail to see why the Malaysian government could not have voted in favour of the protocol, which is designed to help rather than condemn States. By voting for the protocol, Malaysia would have stood head and shoulders with those in the international community that had the moral courage to stand up for justice.
The Protocol establishes a unique system of complementary international and national visiting mechanisms to places of detention. The visits, by adequately mandated experts, would be preventive rather than reactive and thus would only make recommendations for changes required to prevent torture. The implementation of these constructive proposals would be reviewed through regular visits.
The Optional Protocol will be open for signature from 1 January 2003 and will come into force upon the 20th ratification. Those states that have ratified the protocol will elect the international Sub-Committee that will determine its own rules of procedures.
Only three Southeast Asian nations had the moral courage to distinguish themselves by voting in favour of the Protocol, namely Indonesia, Cambodia and East Timor. We congratulate them for being receptive to the idea of international scrutiny and aligning themselves with ethical standards of behaviour.
Malaysia's shameful abstention, on the other hand, sticks out like a sore thumb and speaks volumes of the government's attitude to torture and exposes its hypocritical, undemocratic and oppressive nature. In a sense it is not surprising given the harrowing accounts of detainees' experiences under the hated Internal Security Act and only confirms that the authorities are not prepared to forego harsh and cruel treatment of detainees. The abstention is also not unexpected given that Malaysia has up to now failed to ratify the Convention Against Torture.
We urge the government to repair the damage to Malaysia's tarnished international image by immediately ratifying both the Convention against Torture and the Optional Protocol.
Aliran Executive Committee
This statement was sent to the local media including The Star, New Straits Times, and The Sun.
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