A human rights NGO has called on the government to "walk the talk" by ratifying major human rights conventions in light of the stand the prime minister took at the Extraordinary Islamic Summit.

Najib Abdul Razak's stand at the annual Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) conference signalled that it was time for the Malaysian government to ratify major human rights conventions as Malaysia is one of the few countries that have failed to do so, the Association for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham) said.

"Proham congratulates PM Najib for the position taken at OIC and calls on Malaysia to also ‘walk the talk' by ratifying all the core UN conventions," the NGO said in a statement today.

"Currently, Malaysia is a minority among the nations of the world that have not ratified core human rights conventions.

"There is therefore a growing credibility gap, as we promote moderation at home and abroad. Thus Malaysia has to show that it actually ‘walks the talk'," said the NGO made up of former commissioners of the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam).

PM chastises Syrian government

Najib, according to a New Straits Times report, had condemned the murders and numerous human rights violations in Syria and chastised the Syrian government for holding on to power at the cost of murdering and inflicting misery upon its people.

"This effort is greatly needed and Malaysia must continue to play a more leading, strategic and visible role in this context, especially through OIC and Asean as its core base," said Proham.

"Therefore, we call on the Malaysian government to rectify and improve its weak position on human rights, so that Malaysia is seen to be consistent in its position at the OIC.

"In doing so, we recognise that Malaysia can play a more effective and consistent role... As a strong promoter, advocator and defender of humans rights," said the NGO.

Malaysia is one of the only countries that has yet to ratify several international human rights conventions, including the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd).

This gives Malaysia the distinction being among 16 other countries in the world, including Angola and North Korea , that have yet to do so.