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From Our Member Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), Malaysia – Launch: Cartoon competition focusing on campaigning against torture of young people

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In conjunction with International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM, our member from Malaysia, launched a cartoon competition focusing on campaigning against torture of young people. The cartoon competition will launch the Malaysian Youth Action against Torture campaign and the theme of the competition is ‘Youth against Torture’. The cartoon competition is part of the joint project with APT titled: “Reducing risky practices leading to torture and ill-treatment in police custody in Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand”.

Risky practices that amount to torture such as forced confession and incommunicado detention took place in Malaysia over the time. According to SUARAM documentation, some of these practices continue to exist due to factors such as gaps between law and practices and on-going trends and culture in policing that accommodates these practices. This goes against Malaysia’s pledge that it prohibits all forms of ill-treatment or torture as stated in its National Report to the Humans Right Council in November 2018.

The cartoon competition aims to increase public awareness by empowering young people to reflect on the practices, culture, withheld beliefs on torture, and realize it through their drawings. Participants would be submitting their sketches that may include – but not being limited – to how young people understand torture in Malaysia, how they perceived risky practices leading to torture under law enforcement’s custody, the public perception towards torture and government’s efforts and attitudes towards preventing torture.

The cartoon competition will kickstart the Malaysia Youth’s Action against Torture (MyAct) campaign. The theme of the competition is ‘Youth against Torture’. It is part of the joint project with APT titled: “Reducing risky practices leading to torture and ill-treatment in police custody in Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand”.

Practices that amount to torture such as forced confession and incommunicado detention have been prevalent in Malaysia for many years. According to Suaram documentation, these illegal practices continue to exist. The cartoon competition aims to increase public awareness. It will empower young people to reflect on the practice, culture, withheld beliefs on torture, and realise it through their drawings.

 

 

Participants are to submit sketches that may include but are not limited to how young people understand torture in Malaysia, how they perceive torture in custody, the public perception towards torture and the government’s efforts and attitudes towards preventing torture.

The success of advocacy campaigns such as the “Cartoonist against Torture” exhibition spearheaded by the National Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) in collaboration with SUARAM and other civil society organisations in 2019 shows that popular mediums such as cartoons and films are effective in raising public awareness and potentially counter narratives that condone these practices. Furthermore, the artworks from the competition will also benefit the advocacy efforts of national organisations such as SUHAKAM, ACT4CAT or Bar Council towards Malaysia’s ratification of Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT).

The website myact.suaram.net will be an information hub and e-gallery for public to learn, participate or see the artworks submitted for the competition. Youths who are interested to submit their entries can learn more about the issues of torture and ill-treatment and get further information and guidance for the competition from the website. This includes cartoon artworks previously published by SUHAKAM, information about torture and the UNCAT in a simple and accessible way.

SUARAM is grateful for the generous financial support provided by the European Union and look forward to working together towards a common goal of eradicating any practices that condone torture and ill-treatment in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, as well as the South East Asian region.

Disclaimer: the European Union funds the project “Reducing risky practices leading to torture and ill-treatment in police custody in Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand”. However, the content of this press statement is the sole responsibility of the APT, SUARAM, TFDP and CrCF and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.