Human rights activists have expressed concern over Malawi’s continued failure to fully implement recommendations made under the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review (UPR), saying the lapse is undermining the protection of marginalized groups and key populations.

Executive Director for Community Healthy Rights Advocacy, Aniz Mitha, said that while some progress has been made in promoting human rights, certain provisions in the country’s penal code remain problematic and require urgent reform.

 “We've had cases where people have been arrested and charged under laws that are clearly draconian. It's like we're still stuck in the past. The government needs to show some political will to reform these laws and ensure they're aligned with international human rights standards,” said Mitha.

His remarks are echoed by Michael Kaiyatsa, Executive Director for the Center for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), who cited the government’s failure to abolish the death penalty as one of the lingering challenges affecting human rights progress in the country.

The concerns come as Malawi prepares to present its report on the human rights situation at the 2025 Universal Periodic Review session in Geneva, Switzerland, this Friday.

The Universal Periodic Review is a mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council through which member states undergo a peer review of their human rights records every four and a half years. This year, Chile, Ethiopia, and Kyrgyzstan will serve as Malawi’s rapporteurs during the review.

The last Universal Periodic Review was held in November 2020, where several recommendations where made.

During the previous UPR, delegation of Malawi stated that the third cycle of the universal periodic review had come at a time when the country had just undergone a year of political transition, and had been elected to the Human Rights Council.

The 2019 election had been marred by irregularities, which had led to a year of public protests. A new election had been held in June 2020, resulting in the inauguration of the administration of the President, Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera.

On Monday, CHERA engaged Journalistis in Lilongwe to highlight them on the role of the media on implementation of such recommendations among others.