KUALA LUMPUR (29 JANUARY 2026) – The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) welcomes the Concluding Remarks of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) following Malaysia’s recent review under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. SUHAKAM notes the Committee’s recognition of Malaysia’s progress in several areas, while underscoring that persistent gaps continue to impede the full realisation of children’s rights and require urgent, coordinated and time-bound action.
SUHAKAM commends the Government for positive measures acknowledged by the CRC, including improvements in maternal and child health outcomes, expanded preventive interventions, and institutional efforts to strengthen child-related policies and services. SUHAKAM also notes the constructive engagement demonstrated by the Government during the review process, reflecting an openness to dialogue and reform. These developments represent important steps forward. However, as emphasised by the CRC, progress remains uneven and must be consolidated through structural and legislative reforms to ensure that no child is left behind.
In line with its long-standing positions and the Committee’s concluding remarks, SUHAKAM highlights six critical and priority actions requiring immediate attention:
- Withdrawal of Reservations
SUHAKAM reiterates its constant call for the withdrawal of Malaysia’s remaining reservations to the Convention. Their continued maintenance is no longer consistent with Malaysia’s legal and institutional maturity. SUHAKAM urges the Government to expedite and meaningfully conclude the review process initiated in 2017, in line with the Committee’s clear one-year timeframe.
- Harmonisation of Domestic Laws
SUHAKAM calls for the acceleration of law reform to ensure full harmonisation of domestic legislation with the Convention and its General Comments. This must be supported by a coordinated national mechanism with clear leadership, accountability and timelines, prioritising General Comment No. 24 and evidence-based policy development.
- Child Protection and the Child Justice System
SUHAKAM emphasises the need to strengthen child protection systems, including a robust and rights-based approach to alternative care, ensuring that institutionalisation is used strictly as a measure of last resort. SUHAKAM reiterates for the urgent need for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Institutional Care for Children to uncover the complexities of the different authorities managing the insitutions in order to eliminate the systemic issues confronting children in such care and to identify the root causes of the lack of monitoring and supervision of these institutions. The child justice system must be fully aligned with the Convention’s standards and supported by a transparent, professional and accountable child protection workforce.
- Refugee, Migrant and Undocumented Children
SUHAKAM reiterates its consistent position that refugee, migrant and undocumented children must not be excluded from protection frameworks. Concrete measures are required to include these children within national systems and to ensure access to essential services, including education and social protection. In this context, SUHAKAM highlights the need to progressively realise universal health coverage for all children, regardless of nationality or legal status, and to remove systemic barriers that result in deprivation. SUHAKAM further reiterates its call for the urgent implementation of non-custodial alternatives, the ending of immigration detention of children, and amendments to the Immigration Act to ensure compliance with the Convention’s standards.
- Fiscal Space and Child-Focused Budgeting
As Malaysia advances towards high-income status amid rapid demographic change, SUHAKAM stresses that adequate and sustainable investment in children remains a core human rights obligation. SUHAKAM calls for child-targeted and gender-responsive budgeting, systematic tracking of child-related expenditure, and analysis of investment adequacy against child outcomes to ensure that resource allocation translates into tangible improvements in children’s well-being.
- Reporting under the Optional Protocols and the CRPD
SUHAKAM urges the Government to expedite the submission of overdue reports under the Optional Protocols, including the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (OPAC). This is essential to Malaysia’s commitment to international accountability and full compliance with its treaty obligations, and should be undertaken in a manner that reflects the cross-cutting and indivisible human rights principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, read together with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), thereby ensuring that gender equality and the rights of children with disabilities are fully and systematically addressed.
SUHAKAM further affirms that since the legal incorporation of the Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC) under SUHAKAM, the OCC has been funded solely through SUHAKAM’s existing budget, without any additional allocation from the Government. This institutional arrangement is important in safeguarding the independence of the OCC, as SUHAKAM is Malaysia’s National Human Rights Institution accredited with ‘A’ status under the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) and operating in accordance with the Paris Principles. SUHAKAM also acknowledges that the CRC has raised questions regarding the adequacy and sustainability of funding for the OCC. While the current arrangement reflects SUHAKAM’s commitment to strengthening oversight, monitoring, and advocacy for children’s rights, the existing level of funding is not adequate to support the expanded scope of responsibilities arising from the OCC’s statutory mandate. As SUHAKAM continues to expand its presence nationwide and children have become a key demographic requiring focused and sustained engagement, the effective discharge of the OCC’s functions necessitates commensurate and sustainable resourcing.
SUHAKAM recognises the progress achieved by the Government while emphasising that sustained political will and decisive action are required to fully implement the CRC’s recommendations. SUHAKAM remains committed to constructive engagement with the Government, Parliament and all stakeholders to ensure that children’s rights are fully respected, protected and fulfilled in Malaysia.
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Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM)
29 January 2026
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MS