Govt urged to recognise Article 7 of UN convention on rights of children

KUCHING (Sept 26): The government is urged to lift its reservation on Article 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and fully incorporate it into law to ensure that all children born in Malaysia are immediately registered as Malaysian nationals.

In making this call, Lawyer Kamek director Simon Siah emphasised that the Article stated that all children have the right to a legally registered name, officially recognised by the government.

Children, he added, also have the right to a nationality, which allows them to belong to a country, as well as the right to know their parents and, whenever possible, to be cared for by them.

“It’s very important. Because without this nationality, you basically cannot, even if you want to go to school, right now, because of the poverty we experience, stateless children may be able to go to school but then they have to pay a higher amount than compared to normal students.

“Because of this situation, a lot of these parents who also come from very poor families, who survive with very little, they normally don’t send their children to school,” he said.

Siah pointed this out during his presentation titled ‘Child Rights and International Treaties’ at the ‘Forum on Child Rights in Malaysia: How Did We Fare, Challenges and Way Forward’ today in conjunction with Suhakam’s 25th anniversary.

Organised by Lawyer Kamek, a Sarawak-based non-profit organisation, in partnership with Suhakam, the forum aimed to address critical issues and foster dialogue on the protection and advancement of children’s rights in Malaysia, with a particular focus on Sarawak.

Citing an example, Siah said that in Semporna, many children who wish to attend school are unable to do so because their parents cannot afford the fees.

“When NGOs actually set up alternative schools, those schools are often shut down.

“So, what do we want to do with these stateless children? The government has no plan on stateless children in that sense,” he said.

“That is why, personally and on behalf of Lawyer Kamek, one of our campaigns over the years and a lot of our statements is to ask the government to remove this reservation under Article 7.

“Give these children citizenship because they are so vulnerable. They have no one to speak up for them. They cannot speak up for themselves. Who is supposed to defend them? We are the ones who are supposed to defend them. So, I believe Article 7 should be removed,” he added.