PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is bidding for a spot on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the 2022-2024 term, Foreign Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said today.
Traditionally, between four and five Asia-Pacific states are elected to the council each term, and the last time Malaysia was on the council was for the 2010-2013 term. The country was first elected to the council for the 2006-2009 term.
Hishammuddin announced Malaysia’s candidature in his opening address at the “Recover Better – Stand Up For Human Rights” virtual forum, held in recognition of World Human Rights Day 2020.
“The HRC embodies the spirit of multilateralism, which Malaysia continues to advocate for, and as a member of the HRC, Malaysia will work closely with all actors to drive progress on human rights at home and also globally,” he said.
He said Malaysia had also been selected by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) as one of six model countries for its study on good practices emerging from their universal periodic review (UPR).
“Through the study, the OHCHR will produce a public report on good practices emerging from the UPR which would serve as a reference material for countries in future UPRs.”
The forum was a joint effort organised by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, the foreign affairs ministry, the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department and United Nations in Malaysia.