KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia does not plan to ratify the United Nations Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) in the nearest time, the Dewan Rakyat heard today.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said that to do so, certain pieces of legislation in the country must first be amended as UNCAT outlines an exception to the prohibition of severe pain.
"Is Malaysia planning to ratify it? For now, no. There are certain sections (in the convention) that clearly state that our national laws cannot contain elements that can cause severe pain.
"However, our regular laws have provisions that include caning, and the same goes for the Syariah court, and caning involves pain.
"Hence, this means that we would need to amend many of the existing laws if we ratify UNCAT, so we will not ratify it for now," he said.
Saifuddin said this during his ministry's winding-up session on the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia's (Suhakam) annual report for 2021 and 2022.
Suhakam commissioner Tengku Mohamed Fauzi Tengku Abdul Hamid had previously criticised Malaysia for its perceived lack of commitment to becoming a torture-free nation.
His remarks were made in light of Malaysia's delay in acceding to UNCAT.
He had also said that despite the convention being ratified by 173 countries globally, Malaysia and several Asean countries have yet to express interest in that effort.
Malaysia has, to date, acceded to only three major international human rights treaties: 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).