Malaysian Alliance of Civil Society Organisations (MACSA) calls on the media and human rights organizations not to be discriminatory, hypocritical and self serving in the treatment of egregious human rights abuses on the back of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Though MACSA opposes the invasion by Russia and Ukraine and any subsequent human rights abuses, MACSA finds appalling the selective treatment of US and western countries on war crimes and egregious human rights abuses.
The US has yet to be accounted for the war crimes on the illegal war and incursion in Iraq and Libya, among others, it initiated. They have yet to be taken to account of its decades long illegal detention without trial of abducted prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. The US has consistently been supporting to this day ethnic cleansing and apartheid policy of Israel where Palestinians have been suffering and denied basic rights for decades on end. It has on record consistently foiled attempts at the UN Security Council, Human Rights Council and International Criminal Court to make Israel accountable for its ethnic cleansing. These are among the egregious human rights abuses committed and supported by the United States.
Though condemnation of Russia is appropriate and supported, MACSA finds the US and western countries treatment of egregious human rights abuses on the back of the Russian invasion, deeply appalling. The treatment of refugees from Ukraine with past refugees from Syria, African countries and others by the western countries are so starkly different that borders on outright racism. The action taken against war crimes committed by Russians and the US are so deeply discriminatory and hypocritical that makes so many people disgusted with how human rights have been misused for self serving interests. These double standards or discriminatory actions will only encourage more egregious abuses with impunity.
It is further disappointing to see that our very own Suhakam commissioner perpetuates this double standard. In Jerald Joseph’s reported comment on the Russian expulsion from the UN human rights council, the commissioner “argued that Russia’s decision to inflict war by invading Ukraine itself is “systemic violation” of Ukrainian citizens’ rights and thus this justifies Russia’ expulsion from the UN human rights council. It is highly regretful that this merely mimic the prevalent myopic double standard narrative of the west. He failed to highlight the disdain by many here of the hypocritical and discriminatory standards by the US knowing that the US is the incoming member of the Human Rights Council. If Russia is to be expelled from the Council for its gross violation of human rights and war crimes in Ukraine, so must the US be expelled for the past atrocities it committed and supported which has led to hundreds of thousands being killed and many tortured.
Malaysians must be clear of its stand. We oppose the Russians invasion of the Ukraine as much we oppose US invasion in many countries and its support of ethnic cleansing. Let’s stand up against the Russians and US for their commission and support of egregious human rights abuses.
JOINT STATEMENT BY:
LUKMAN SHERIFF ALIAS
Chairperson, Malaysian Alliance of Civil Society Organisations (MACSA)
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR. RAFIDAH HANIM MOKHTAR
Co-Chairperson, Malaysian Alliance of Civil Society Organisations (MACSA)
MACSA is a coalition of civil society organisations with the specific aim and object to look into, as well as advocate, human rights issues in Malaysia for the UPR Process.