|2016

WORLD REPORT 2016
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
The Federal Court decided in October to reverse a lower court ruling that the
state of Negeri Sembilan’s prohibition on “a male person posing as a woman”
was unconstitutional. The ruling seriously undermined the rights of transgender
people. In June, nine transgender women were convicted by a Sharia court in Kelantan
under a similar state prohibition.
On September 10, two men wielding iron bars brutally beat one of Malaysia’s
most prominent transgender activists, Nisha Ayub, outside her apartment building,
requiring her hospitalization. She reported the apparent hate crime to the
police, but at time of writing the police had not identified any suspects.
National Human Rights Commission
In November, the Malaysian government announced plans to cut its funding to
Suhakam, the national human rights commission, by 50 percent, in what is
widely seen as retaliation for the commission’s independent reporting.
Key International Actors
Malaysia was the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
and the East Asia Summit in 2015 and is a member of the UN Security Council.
The country positions itself in the UN and the international community as a moderate
Muslim state prepared to stand up to Islamist extremism, earning support
from the US and its allies. Malaysia also has continued its engagement with
China, its largest trading partner.
Mali
The human rights climate in Mali worsened as a result of a significant increase in
violence and a marked deterioration in security, notwithstanding the June signing
of a peace agreement envisioned to end the military and political crisis in the
north. Attacks and violence progressively spread from the north into several
southern regions and the capital, Bamako.
Throughout the year there were frequent incidents of banditry and rampant criminality;
clashes between armed groups; and deadly attacks by armed Islamist
groups on United Nations peacekeepers, Malian government forces, and to a
lesser extent, civilians. The violence severely undermined the delivery of humanitarian
aid. Government forces responded to the attacks with military operations
that on several occasions resulted in arbitrary arrests, executions, torture, and
other mistreatment.
Malian authorities made scant effort to investigate and hold accountable those
implicated in serious abuses committed during the 2012-2013 armed conflict.
The release in 2015 of some 70 men from detention, including some implicated
in serious violations, raised concern of a de facto amnesty.
Rule of law institutions countrywide were weak, in part due to unprofessional
practices, such as the solicitation of bribes, and inadequate budgetary allocations
for the criminal justice system. Corruption, endemic at all levels of government,
further impeded Malians’ access to basic health care and education.
There was little progress in security sector and justice reform or in addressing
development challenges, such as the delivery of basic healthcare and education.
Concerns about the deteriorating security situation and the movement south of
armed groups allegedly linked to Al-Qaeda generated sustained diplomatic interest
in Mali. The French government played a key role in military matters, the European
Union (EU) on training and security sector reform, and the UN, through
the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), on
rule of law and political stability. However, these actors were largely reluctant to
publicly call for investigations into past and ongoing crimes.
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