A/HRC/42/47/Add.2 create a coordination body at the federal level to assess the best legal, political and budgetary strategies to provide access to adequate public water and sanitation services for those who are undocumented, stateless or otherwise in an irregular situation. Such an assessment must include the conditions of toilets and access to water in detention and reception centres. G. Prisoners and detainees 54. The Special Rapporteur spoke to three refugee men who were in prison. Their stories indicate poor and almost inhuman conditions of access to water and toilets in prison. He visited several blocks in Kajang Prison and observed varying levels of privacy for toilet usage. In most blocks, particularly those used for rehabilitation, the toilet inside each cell was located next to a low wall separating other parts of the cell. However, there were also blocks, particularly the Quarantine Block, where that wall did not exist and prisoners were left without any privacy when urinating or defecating. 55. The Special Rapporteur acknowledges the efforts of the public authorities to provide safe water and sanitation to detainees and highlights that their needs must be a continuous concern, taking note of the requirements of international humanitarian law and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules).5 The Nelson Mandela Rules stipulates that drinking water should be available and that prisoners are required to keep their persons clean, and to this end they should be provided with water and with such toilet articles as are necessary for health and cleanliness. H. Transgender and gender non-conforming persons 56. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons in Malaysia often face structural and systemic discrimination. Particularly under the civil and State-administered Sharia laws, there are many laws that criminalize persons based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. In his report on gender inequality in 2016, the Special Rapporteur emphasized that restrictive gender recognition laws not only severely undermined the ability of transgender persons to enjoy their rights to basic services, they also prevented them from living safely, free from violence and discrimination (A/HRC/33/49, para. 9). 57. Water and sanitation facilities must be safe, available, accessible, affordable, and socially and culturally acceptable, provide privacy and ensure dignity for all individuals, including transgender and gender non-conforming persons. These elements should be particularly prioritized in public spaces and the work environment. The Special Rapporteur heard that several transgender persons were often instructed by their employers to use toilets based on their sex assigned at birth, mostly due to complaints by co-workers or clients. As a result, transgender persons cannot use the closest toilet but are forced to use toilets on other floors in other buildings or in public spaces. According to a 2017 online survey on access to toilets by transgender persons in Malaysia by Justice for Sisters, 40 of the 97 transgender respondents had encountered discrimination of some form when using a public toilet, while 26 of the 97 respondents had experienced restrictions on access to toilets at the workplace. Fifteen of the transgender respondents reported having been forced to use toilets based on their sex assigned at birth.6 58. Working in such environments not only adds stress, anxiety and isolation, but also increases health risks, such as urinary tract infections, due to restricted use of toilets. In the above-mentioned survey, 42 per cent of the respondents reported that they felt emotional stress about using the toilet, whereas 39 per cent of them battled with self-esteem issues because of discriminatory experiences encountered when going to the toilet. In many cases, 5 6 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 15 (2002) on the right to water, para. 16 (g). The findings of the survey were reported at a symposium on access to public facilities for transgender persons, held in Penang in January 2017. 13

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents