|
Suhakam upset over ICC’s downgrade threat |
|
|
|
|
Monday, 28 July 2008 07:26am |
|
 ©The
Star (Used by permission)
by Florence A. Samy and Nurbaiti Hamdan
Suhakam vice-chairman Tan Sri Simon Sipaun said the potential downgrading was
unjustified as they had improved qualitatively and quantitatively since 2002 and
were free to make statements independently without government pressure.
The International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the
Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC), had asked Suhakam to reply in
writing within a year on why it should not be downgraded from Grade A to Grade B
for not being fully compliant with the Paris Principles.
The ICC sub-committee, which recently reviewed Suhakam's accreditation and human
rights compliance, had also received a report jointly made by two
non-governmental organisations. Suhakam said they were not given a copy of the
report.
Fellow Commissioner Datuk Dr Chiam Heng Keng said it was unfair of the ICC to
rely on one NGO report and to judge their performance from a distance.
“The ICC should get the complete picture by coming down to the ground to see us
at work. All we were asked to fill in was a form with basic questions on the
commission.
“They should also look in totality at the Paris Principles ,” she said yesterday
when met at the NGO meeting on Engagement with National Human Rights
Institutions (NHRIs), held on the sidelines of the 13th Asia Pacific Forum on
NHRIs starting today.
Sipaun, who was also present, said Suhakam hardly interacted with ICC and felt
more at home with APF where it enjoyed good networking and training.
“We have asked for the laws to be amended, for our reports to be debated in
Parliament and for a special committee to be set up to appoint Commissioners,
years before the NGOs suggested it.
APF director Kieren Fitzpatrick said that the documents sent to ICC should have
been made available to Suhakam.
He said APF was in dialogue with the ICC sub-committee and Suhakam, which is
hosting the APF meeting this year, to understand the issues concerned.
Fitzpatrick said although there was no legal relationship between ICC and APF,
the committee's decision should not be ignored as it was still a regulatory
body.
“There is always room for all Commissions to improve but there is also room for
improvement in the ICC,” he said.
 |
News 
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Circular No 297/2008
