Malaysia's Human Rights Performance: Assessment of its First Session of Universal Periodic Review in the United Nations Human Rights Council

Main Article Content

Ying Hooi Khoo

Abstract

Since its inception, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) has been subjected to a substantial amount of criticism. The mechanism began functioning in 2008, however there have been little made known about the roles and functions of the UPR. This article explicitly examines the first UPR process of Malaysia in 2009, in order to illustrate how the mechanism operates in practice by highlighting the engagement of Malaysia government with the stakeholders, the follow-up process and the main issues concerned. This article argues that in spite of the excellent diplomacy skills that portrayed by the Malaysian government in the UPR session, the human rights situation in the country has not been improved much. This paper seeks to determine how effective the UPR has been at encouraging human rights reforms nationally by analyzing and assessing the implementation actions of Malaysian government in response to their accepted UPR recommendations.

Article Details

Section
Articles (refereed)
Author Biography

Ying Hooi Khoo, University of Malaya

Khoo Ying Hooi is attached as a Fellow with the Department of International and Strategic Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in University of Malaya. She is also currently a PhD Candidate in the Department of Government and Civilization Studies in the University Putra Malaysia. She has written a range of articles and commentaries on social movements, protests, human rights, Malaysian politics and democracy.