The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) will organise a two-day conference entitled "Human Rights and Education", in conjunction with Human Rights Day on Sept 9. It will be officiated by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Rais Yatim.

According to Suhakam, the objectives of the conference are to raise public awareness and understanding of human rights issues among Malaysians. The commission also seeks to introduce resource materials on human rights education into schools.

Among the guest speakers at the conference are Nicholas Howen, the Asia Pacific representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR); Anna Wu Hung Yuk, the chairperson of the Equal Opportunity Commission Hong Kong; and Jefferson Plantilla, the head researchers at Japanese rights organisation, Hurights.

Road show

Suhakam will be incorporating four symposiums into the conference starting with the first titled "Human Rights and Caring Society", to discuss issues ranging from promotion of rights' awareness in the workplace to discrimination against disadvantaged segments of society.

The second and third symposiums will focus on the role of education in promoting human rights. Among the speakers invited for the session are university professors and students.

The final symposium will be on children's rights to education, with a focus on promotion of human rights values through language and history teaching in schools.

Also scheduled for discussion during the conference is a plenary session titled "Is an exam-oriented system a violation of children's rights to education ?". The panelists for the session are Dr Abdul Shukor Abdullah, former director-general of the education department; Sinapan Samydorai, President of Think Centre, Singapore; as well as Ng Yoke Mui, a parent.

Suhakam is also continuing its public education campaign by starting a road show in Sabah, where it opened a permanent office in Kota Kinabalu this year to receive complaints from the public.

According to Suhakam secretary Kamaruddin Mohamed Baria, the road show will go from district to district in the state. A similar campaign has been planned for Sarawak, where the human rights commission also has an office in Kuching.

No enforcement powers

In a separate development, Suhakam hosted a visit today by a delegation of heads of missions and officials from 12 European Union (EU) embassies to Malaysia.

The delegation led by Ambassador of Denmark to Malaysia Lasse Reimann, also included representatives from four EU applicant countries Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania.

Among the issues raised by the envoys included preventive detention laws such as the Internal Security Act, the death penalty, freedom of media and freedom of religion in Malaysia.

In response to some of the concerns expressed by the delegation, Suhakam chairperson Abu Talib Othman said Suhakam had received criticisms because many fail to understand that the commission does not have enforcement powers to take action beyond making recommendations.