Malaysia- 1st- Human rights impact assessments

By Daniel Morris | 13. January 2026

THEMATIC PRIORITY 1: GOVERNANCE

UNGP PILLAR 1

ANTI-BRIBERY AND-CORRUPTION

No.: G1.19

Action: Promote inclusive and sustainable urban development by institutionalising effective Social Impact Assessments (SIAs) to protect public purpose lands and green spaces in urban settings.

Output Indicator(s):

  • Evidence, insights and recommendations are developed to guide measures that underscore transparency in public land management and establishes clear carrying capacity limits for cities.
  • Effectiveness of SIAs is improved grounded in the right to information and meaningful engagement with affected communities, enabling informed participation in decision-making processes.

Collaborative Partner(s): Ministry of Housing and Local Government; Local authorities (PBT)

THEMATIC PRIORITY 3: ENVIRONMENT

UNGP PILLLAR 1

ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY

No.: E1.10

Action: Provide free and easy public access to EIA reports and supporting documentation before development projects begin, in both urban and rural settings.

Output Indicator(s):

  • Establish a centralised, free and publicly accessible Document Retrieval System with alternative retrieval mechanisms, ensuring that information is easily consumed and available in both English and Bahasa Malaysia.
  • EIA reports are published an appropriate amount of time prior to the start of projects to enable meaningful community deliberation and updated or revised EIA reports are made available during an appeals process to prevent procedural manipulation.
  • Businesses effectively demonstrate through documented eort that they have exhausted all means to ensure communities have received EIA reports, understand them, and have responded freely and collectively.

Collaborative Partner(s): Department of Environment (DOE); businesses; CSOs; IGOs;

No.: E1.12

Action: Assess how businesses integrate comprehensive human rights and environmental impact assessments into energy transition projects.

Output indicator(s):

  • Evidence, insights and recommendation are developed that highlight implementation gaps and key areas of focus for the energy sector and are used to guide policy amendments.

Collaborative partner(s): NRES; PETRA; Ministry of Economy; CSOs

THEMATIC PRIORITY 3: ENVIRONMENT

UNGP PILLAR 2

COMMUNITY-CENTRED STRAEGIES

No.: E2.8

Action: Publicly commit to recognising and respecting the human rights of EHRDs and Indigenous Peoples, whether Malaysian law provides for those rights or otherwise, and act consistently with these corporate commitments. Due diligence including environmental, social, cultural, and other related human rights impact assessments should be regularly conducted and integrated internally at all working levels. FPIC principles should also be met fully by exceeding the minimum requirements to ensure that any deficits in the process do not create further harm to communities directly or by creating an incomplete picture of potential harms.

No.: E2.10

Action: Meaningfully include Indigenous communities in the FPIC process by consulting and partnering with them on the due diligence process. Companies should actively seek their comments and verify results from due diligence and impact assessments, incorporate community-level information pathways, and work in partnership with Indigenous CSOs. Special attention should be given to Indigenous women, youth and children.