KUALA LUMPUR — The National Human Rights Commission of Nepal (NHRC) and Malaysia’s Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) have renewed a three-year agreement aimed at strengthening protection and access to justice for Nepali migrant workers.
The memorandum of understanding (MOU), covering 2026 to 2028, was signed on September 23 at SUHAKAM’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur by its chairman Mohd Hishamudin Md Yunus and NHRC chairman Top Bahadur Magar.
Under the agreement, both commissions will cooperate in investigating human rights violations involving Nepali workers and monitoring conditions at detention centres, as reported by The Kathmandu Post.
They will also examine factors behind the high death rate among migrant workers and develop policy measures addressing recruitment fees and forced labour risks.
The agreement further seeks to improve Nepali workers’ access to social security, with SUHAKAM and NHRC set to coordinate with Malaysia’s Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) on relevant schemes.
Women migrant workers in unsafe and informal employment sectors have also been identified as a particular area of concern under the renewed cooperation.
The two commissions will undertake policy reviews and capacity-building initiatives to strengthen migrant workers’ access to justice and protection mechanisms.
The agreement was originally signed in 2019 to formalise cooperation between the two bodies on protecting the rights of migrant workers and citizens in both countries.
It provides for the sharing of information, cooperation in handling complaints, as well as joint monitoring and investigations.
The agreement was renewed twice before its previous term expired in 2024.
As part of the latest engagement, an NHRC delegation met representatives of the Nepali Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, the Non-Resident Nepali Association Malaysia and other stakeholders to gather information on the conditions faced by Nepali workers.
SUHAKAM also facilitated meetings between the Nepalese delegation and Malaysia’s Prisons Department and SOCSO.
Both commissions have urged Nepali workers in Malaysia to report human rights violations they experience or witness to SUHAKAM.
SUHAKAM said complaints would be treated confidentially and handled in accordance with legal procedures.
About 400,000 Nepali workers are currently employed in Malaysia, according to SUHAKAM.
Between 2021 and August 2026, the commission recorded 46 complaints involving Nepali workers.
The complaints included passport retention by employers, work periods of up to 30 consecutive days without rest days, working hours of as long as 12 hours a day, delayed or withheld wages, unpaid overtime and unsafe working conditions.