Give better protection to human rights defenders, Suhakam tells Asean

Free Malaysia Today

24-05-2025

Suhakam chairman Hishamudin Yunus said Asean must ensure those who dare to speak the truth to those holding power are not criminalised.
KUALA LUMPUR : Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) chairman Hishamudin Yunus has called on Asean member states to provide better protection for human rights defenders across Southeast Asia.
He said many such human rights defenders continue to face harassment, threats, detention or even death simply for doing their jobs.
'These individuals, journalists, lawyers, indigenous leaders, women's rights activists and environmental defenders are not enemies of the state,' he said at the Asean Peoples Civil Society Assembly here today.
Hishamudin said Asean must ensure that those who speak the truth to those in power are 'not criminalised, but supported'.
Governments must enact laws and policies that explicitly recognise and protect human rights defenders, he said.
He also highlighted Malaysia's duty as the Asean chair to help shape the trajectory of the Asean Community Vision 2045, which outlines the region's strategic direction for the next 20 years, covering political security, economy, socioculture and connectivity.
'The declared theme of 'Sustainability and Inclusivity' must not remain aspirational rhetoric.
'It must be made real through laws, policies and practices that place the dignity and rights of all at the centre of Asean's social, political and economic integration,' he said.
Hishamudin also called on Asean to establish inclusive social protection and promote labour rights, especially for migrants and informal workers.
'Only a united, inclusive Asean can withstand the mounting pressures of a fractured world economy,' he said.
Civil societies raise alarm over human trafficking
Cynthia Gabriel, founder of the Southeast Asian Anti-Corruption Network, said corruption is at the heart of trafficking, environmental exploitation and even labour abuses.
Cynthia Gabriel.
'We believe crime and corruption are transactional – they feed each other. When you see organised crime, you will find corruption lurking in the shadows,' she said at the forum.
Cynthia said trafficking, often described as the most lucrative organised crime globally, is difficult to track because of limited data.
Last year, the International Labour Organization reported that annual global profits from forced labour and forced sexual exploitation had risen to an estimated US$236 billion.
The 2024 US Trafficking in Persons Report said over the past five years, human traffickers have exploited domestic and foreign victims in Malaysia, and they have also exploited victims from Malaysia abroad.
The majority of victims are among the estimated 1.5 million documented and an even greater number of undocumented migrant workers in Malaysia.
Abu Mufakir, from Indonesia's Koalisi Buroh Migran Berdaulat, said deportation of undocumented migrants from Sabah was not helpful.
Amina Rasul.
'Sabah deports up to 10,000 undocumented migrants each year – even babies are detained. But the number keeps rising.
'Mass deportation clearly isn't working,' he said, adding that the authorities need more effective alternatives, as most migrants come from Indonesia and the Philippines to work on palm oil estates.
Amina Rasul, of the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy, said civil society must continue leading the push for people-centred regional policies, including on migration, labour and human security.
'We cannot wait for the Asean secretariat. Civil society has to lead the way,' she said.