Advocates & Solicitors
Friday, 27 September 2024
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) has finally launched their Report on Haze Pollution!
It has been a long and fruitful journey for the CERAH Anti-Haze Coalition who first brought a complaint to SUHAKAM about haze pollution in December 2021. (To read more on the start of this journey: https://www.kiu-co.com/copy-of-news/we've-brought-a-human-rights-complaint-about-haze-pollution-to-suhakam).
Following the complaint, SUHAKAM then collaborated with CERAH to organise a Roundtable Discussion (RTD) to gather the diverse perspectives of subject matter experts and important stakeholders in developing recommendations for the way forward. Held in March 2022, the RTD also shed light on the root causes of haze pollution and its effects on public health, the environment, and the economy. (To read the press statement on the RTD: https://www.kiu-co.com/copy-of-news/joint-press-statement-with-suhakam-on-the-right-to-clean-air)
Today, SUHAKAM’s report – Silent Enemy: Report on Haze Pollution & the Right to Clean Air, has been launched at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. This report is the culmination of CERAH’s efforts in advocating and campaigning for the recognition of the right to clean air, especially as a fundamental human right.
The report sets out 6 key recommendations by SUHAKAM to address haze pollution:
For the Malaysian government to amend the Federal Constitution to expressly recognise the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment;
For the Rules Committee, consisting of the Attorney General’s Chambers, Judiciary, Malaysian Bar, Sabah Law Society and Advocates Association of Sarawak, to amend the Rules of Court 2012 to include specific rules of civil procedure for environmental proceedings to improve access to justice;
For the Malaysian government to enact a holistic framework legislation for clean air in Malaysia;
For the Malaysian government to take the lead at the ASEAN level to propose the development of a protocol to the AATHP to establish a legally binding commitment by each Member State to enact domestic legislation to hold account its citizens and corporations domiciled in its own jurisdiction for their contribution to land and/or forest fires in other Member States;
For the Malaysian government to accelerate the development of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights; and
For the Malaysian government to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially through institutional transformations across all levels of government to ensure inclusive participation of all stakeholders.
We hope that this report will be used as an important advocacy tool for anyone and everyone seeking institutional change for the haze problem, including businesses to better understand their roles and responsibilities in protecting the environment and ensuring the wellbeing of their stakeholders.
To download the full report: https://suhakam.org.my/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SUHAKAM-Report-on-Haze-Pollution-Right-to-Clean-Air.pdf
To read more past blogs on how we got here:
