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The Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) in Malaysia is pushing for the two optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to be ratified. It has also called for the removal of the government’s eight reservations to the Convention. Commissioner Dr Raj Abdul Karim said at a press conference at Suhakam headquarters that removing the protocol on child pornography, trafficking of children and child prostitution was crucial. Ratifying it would require the government to pass laws that protect children from being used as subjects of pornography, as well as to prevent them from viewing pornographic materials. The second optional protocol relates to children caught in armed conflict. Raj said the government should have no objection to ratifying it since the situation is not prevalent in Malaysia. However, she said the government does need to acknowledge and define ‘child pornography’ in legal terms. General provisions against pornography are currently found in the Penal Code and the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, but these do not make specific mention of children’s involvement. In this respect, Malaysia is far behind Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand which have specific laws in place to protect children, she said. With the advance of information and communications technology, there is a serious situation with “children being traded and used for pornography” in Malaysia. Suhakam’s studies between 1995 and 1996 have shown that children as young as nine are viewing pornographic material while their parents are at work. Further problems have arisen due to the use of mobile phones which allow for such material to be exchanged via SMS, Raj said. “We will come up with recommendations and table our suggestions to the government as we must have some basis as to why we want them to look at it,” said Raj. Suhakam hopes to resolve problems by holding discussions with government agencies such as the Information Ministry, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and the print media. Minimum age of marriage 'must be raised' Raj said the Commission also recommended that the minimum age of marriage for girls be raised from 16 to 18 years. “By amending the relevant laws, we could restrict the number of child marriages and allow children to complete their education,” she said. At present, both civil laws and syariah allow women to be married at the age of 16, while the minimum age of marriage for boys is 18. But under the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories), Act 1984, both genders are allowed to marry at younger ages under certain circumstances with the permission of the syariah judge. Further information
pdf: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/92100