Nepal and Malaysia commit to protecting migrant workers
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Nepal’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Malaysia’s Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) signed a three-year agreement to collaborate on protecting the rights of Nepali citizens working in Malaysia.
The commissions will investigate reports of human rights violations affecting Nepali migrant workers, including issues like forced labour and unfair recruitment practices. They also plan to monitor conditions in detention centres and work to understand why migrant workers experience high death rates.
The renewed memorandum of understanding, effective from 2026 to 2028, builds on a partnership that began in 2019 and has been extended twice before. Both organisations will focus on improving Nepali workers’ access to justice and social security, with specific attention given to women employed in potentially dangerous jobs. Officials from the NHRC also met with representatives from the Nepali Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and the Non-Resident Nepali Association Malaysia to learn more about the challenges faced by workers firsthand.
SUHAKAM is encouraging Nepali workers to report any human rights abuses they experience, promising to handle complaints with confidentiality. Between 2021 and August 2026, SUHAKAM received 46 complaints involving Nepali workers, detailing issues like passport withholding and excessive working hours.
