PETALING JAYA: On World Humanitarian Day today, Malaysia must continue to push for peace, truce and an end to all violence and genocide, especially in Palestine, says Datuk Seri Mohd Hishamudin Yunus.
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) chairman said Malaysia, a party to the Geneva Conventions, has a role in promoting and enforcing humanitarian principles and human rights law.
“I applaud Malaysia’s unwavering support for the move to invoke the mechanism for justice and this includes prosecutions by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the instituting of cases against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as led by South Africa and the taking of actions through various United Nations bodies.
“Malaysia must relentlessly continue to advocate for peace, a ceasefire and an end to hostilities and genocide in Gaza, Palestine,” he told The Star yesterday.
World Humanitarian Day is commemorated every year on Aug 19, paying tribute to humanitarian workers who were killed or injured in the line of duty and honouring those who continue to provide life-saving support.
The day recognises the importance, effectiveness and positive impact of humanitarian work.
Mohd Hishamudin also said Malaysia must persevere and continue to give political, moral and material support for the Palestinian people, including extending humanitarian aid such as food, clothing, medical supplies and other basic needs.
“In this regard, I highly commend our Prime Minister for his noble effort in extending a helping hand to Palestinians injured in the Gaza conflict, including flying them over to Malaysia for medical treatment.
“At the international level, however, Malaysia must continue to strongly voice out to condemn the Zionist government of Israel for the atrocities and their acts of genocide committed against the Palestinians in Gaza,” he added.
Last Friday, Malaysia successfully evacuated 127 Palestinians from Gaza, bringing them to safety and extending medical assistance to them.
Malaysia’s representative to the Asean Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights, Edmund Bon Tai Soon, also offered several suggestions on the measures that can be taken to commemorate World Humanitarian Day.
He said the country should look into signing up to the ICC, among others.
Besides that, he said the government should also look at making genocide and torture a crime under Malaysian law and to fully recognise the status of refugees.
Tian Chua, formerly Batu MP and now an activist, said World Humanitarian Day is dedicated to humanitarian workers who are often sacrificed in the cause of delivering aid.
“This year, there is no doubt about Israeli brutality – the attack on humanitarian workers is the key focus.
“Nonetheless, there are many conflict zones where delivering aid is highly risky.
“The world has to do more to alleviate the situation.
“We still have to do more as Malaysia’s presence in humanitarian work in Gaza is still relatively low and mainly contributed by NGOs.
“The government should provide more support in terms of logistics, training and funding to build a larger team of professional humanitarian workers.
“They can also be deployed to other regions in the future,” said Tian Chua, who is also the Palestine Solidarity Secretariat spokesman.
He proposed that the government should take more concerted efforts to target violators of international humanitarian laws and to use economic leverage to pressure countries and corporations that are complicit in genocide.
