Remarks by Ambassador Foo Kok Jwee, Permanent Representative of Singapore to the United Nations Office and other International Organisations in Geneva, at the Adoption of the Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review of Singapore

Mr Vice-President,

Honourable Council members,

Distinguished representatives of Observer States,

Members of civil society, especially Singapore civil society who have made the long journey to Geneva.

A very good afternoon to all of you. 

At the outset, let me first extend our heartfelt thanks to the Secretariat and to our troika for your support and counsel throughout this process. 

I would also like to thank the many States and members of civil society for sharing their thoughts on Singapore’s policies and their recommendations to us.

We are appreciative of the warm words of encouragement of many delegations and their endorsement of our track record, social policies, and pragmatic approach in realising human rights during the 24th UPR Working Group session in January. 

Mr Vice-President,

I would like to take some time today to briefly explain our approach to review the recommendations we received; highlight some relevant new developments; and outline our approach going forward.

Our starting point and our longstanding goal has always been to build a strong and progressive nation where our citizens can lead meaningful and happy lives in a fair and inclusive society.

We are fully committed to the protection and promotion of the human rights of our citizens. 

We treasure, and will protect every Singaporean against any threat regardless of their race, language, religion social identity, or sexual orientation. 

Our delegation leader to the UPR Working Group Ambassador Chan Heng Chee explained in some detail the circumstances and factors that shaped Singapore’s pragmatic and outcomes-based approach towards protecting and promoting the human rights of our citizens.

We believe that this broad approach towards governance remains as relevant as ever, even as we recognise that our society is changing and the forces of globalisation are leading to greater income and social stratification.

We still need to manage the enduring challenges of dealing with primordial and visceral forces of race, language and religion in our diverse society.

This entails seeking accommodation among the competing rights of the individuals who make up the nation and the interests of society as a whole.

We firmly apply the rule of law, which we believe is a fundamental pre-condition to protect the human rights and freedoms of Singaporeans as enshrined in our Constitution, and to uphold the core principles of fairness, secularism, meritocracy and multi-racialism. 

It is with these principles in mind that our Inter-Ministerial Committee on Human Rights has carefully reviewed the 236 recommendations that we received at the 24th UPR Working Group session.

We support 116 recommendations, support in part 9 recommendations, and note 111 recommendations.

Broadly speaking, we support recommendations that complement our ongoing efforts to build a fair and inclusive society.

In many cases, we are already implementing policies to strengthen social safety nets and enhance social harmony in areas such as support for lower income Singaporeans, education, healthcare, rights of women and children, protecting migrant workers, caring for the elderly and persons with disabilities.

But we do not support recommendations that are predicated on unfounded assertions, inaccurate assumptions or erroneous information.  There are a handful of such recommendations related to the Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.

In addition, we cannot implement recommendations that are not appropriate in our national context on issues concerning capital punishment, the LGBT community, and national security. We have already comprehensively explained our reasons for this during our Working Group session and in our Addendum.

About a quarter of the recommendations that we do not support in full relate to the ratification of international human rights treaties. 

Singapore takes our treaty obligations seriously.  We engage seriously with the relevant treaty bodies, review our reservations where appropriate, and welcome shared learning on implementing human rights.

Our policy is to actively review our position in respect of human rights treaties.  However, in order not to prejudge the outcomes of the review process, we do not commit ourselves to accede to or ratify treaties ahead of review.

Mr Vice-President,

I will like to pause now to allow Member States and members of civil society to convey their views before delivering my final remarks.

Concluding remarks

Thank you, Mr Vice-President,

I have listened carefully to the comments and views of Member States and members of civil society.

I thank them for their feedback and constructive suggestions.

I would like to say a few words to address some issues raised by members of civil society earlier on recent developments in Singapore.

On the case of Mr Kho Jabing, our Attorney-General’s Chambers had explained comprehensively in their press statement of 25 May 2016 why the Court of Appeal had dismissed multiple last minute applications by Mr Jabing’s lawyers, who had no new arguments and appeared to be trying to delay the execution.  We had also explained our policy on the death penalty extensively during the UPR Working Group and in our national report.

For the cases involving alleged cooling-off day offenses, and new offences allegedly committed by Mr Amos Yee, it is inappropriate for us to comment further as investigations are on-going. 

On the issue of foreign sponsorships for Pink Dot, our Ministry of Home Affairs has explained in its press statement of 7 June 2016 that our Government’s position has been that foreign entities should not interfere in our domestic issues, especially political issues or controversial social issues with political overtones. In the context of LGBT issues, this applies to events that advocate, as well as those that oppose, LGBT causes.  These are political, social or moral choices for Singaporeans to decide for ourselves.

Mr Vice-President

I want to begin my concluding remarks by referring to some thoughtful words by High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein during his interactive dialogue with Member States at the 31st Regular Session of the Human Rights Council in March 2016.

The High Commissioner said, and I quote:

“I am disturbed by a widespread practice of what could be termed ‘human rights window-dressing’. The ratification of treaties and agreements, and acceptance of recommendations stemming from UN human rights mechanisms, are not in themselves human rights achievements. There needs to be follow-up and real change to bring greater freedoms and dignity to the people. Unless consequential at the level of the rights of the individual, the work we do will remain bureaucratic – or even theatre. Human rights obligations should not be a "tick-the-box" exercise designed only to boost a country's international image.”

End of quote.

Mr Vice-President,

We fully agree with the High Commissioner. 

We are not into “human rights window-dressing”.

We do not view governance as a “tick-the-box” PR exercise.

We certainly do not want the Government’s work and continuing efforts to be labelled as “theatre”.

Our goal is to ensure that our policies and programmes continue to produce good outcomes for our citizens and to surmount the challenges that we face today and in the future — terrorism, the future of work, a rapidly ageing society, meeting the aspirations of our citizens, maintaining our social cohesion, and sustaining a virtuous cycle of good politics and good policies.

While Singapore may not be party to a number of human rights treaties, our policies are already fully or largely consistent with their objectives.

By many international indices, Singapore is ranked well largely because of our effective policy outcomes:

We are 11th on the UN’s 2015 Human Development Index;

9th in the 2015 Rule of Law Index of the World Justice Project;

13th on the 2015 Gender Inequality Index;

2nd in Bloomberg’s 2015 ranking of the most efficient healthcare systems.

Singapore has one of the lowest crime rates in the world and one of the lowest recorded rates of drug abuse.

Our approach has worked for us and benefitted Singaporeans and foreign friends who visit us or make Singapore their home.

Mr Vice-President

All societies will have to find their own way forward and become future-ready.  It is an imperative given the rapid pace of change and complexity due to globalisation.   We know we will have to adapt our policies and test new ideas so that they remain relevant in the ever changing social, economic and political circumstances.

In Singapore, we have implemented major policies and programmes to ensure that we continue to be economically competitive while remaining an inclusive society.

Let me cite a few examples.

We are embarking on a journey to create the world’s first Smart Nation – a nation where all Singaporeans live productive, meaningful and fulfilled lives, enabled by technology, and embracing technology and innovation to create the jobs of the future for Singaporeans.

To prepare for a future where 1 in 4 Singaporeans are over 65-years old by 2030, we launched our $3 billion Action Plan for Successful Ageing in February 2016. 

This Action Plan adopts a Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Society approach to chart the way forward for Singaporeans to age well, with dignity and to lead fulfilling lives. 

To prepare Singaporeans for a more competitive and dynamic economic landscape, we are transforming our learning culture – for the young and working adults – to emphasise the mastery of skills and lifelong learning. 

We launched the SkillsFuture movement in 2015 and will spend over S$1 billion per year from 2015 to 2020 on initiatives to support lifelong learning. 

We implemented new policies to enhance social protection for our citizens – in particular the most vulnerable groups – to ensure social mobility and provide more assurance for older Singaporeans.

We are doing this at a time when many societies around the world are confronting rising inequality due to the increasing pace of globalisation and technological changes. 

These progressive social policies, which we had outlined in our national report, include Medishield Life, the Pioneer Generation Package, enhanced Workfare Income Supplement, an Enabling Masterplan for Persons with Disabilities.

Mr Vice-President,

Some of the policies I cited earlier could well be the first of their kind around the world.

But we are fully aware that our principles of governance, the way we care for citizens, protect human rights and preserve our social harmony, may also not fully conform to how other societies have organised themselves.

We therefore believe every country should be given the time and space to deal with its own development and advance human rights in its own way, taking into account its unique and evolving social and cultural context.

Mr Vice-President,

Singapore will continue to support and participate in the UPR process in a constructive manner. 

At home, we will continue to consult widely and conduct regular exchanges with our citizens and civil society to ensure that our policies address their hopes, concerns and aspirations for the future.

We will also work with our partners to ensure that the UPR remains relevant and useful to States in its 3rd cycle.

In our view, the UPR process is not just about reviewing how well each State had done.

It is also an opportunity for States to share their best practices and experiences in the promotion and protection of the rights of their citizens.

I hope that we were also able to provide a better appreciation of Singapore’s unique circumstances and challenges, and how we are working to overcome them.

Last year Singapore celebrated the 50th anniversary of our independence - SG50 as we call it.

50 years is but a blink of an eye in the life of nations.  But we are already looking forward to SG100.

We are determined to work together to forge a unique sense of national identity and pragmatic approach towards economic and social development to keep Singapore special and exceptional.

In closing, let me express my sincere gratitude to you Mr President, the members of the Troika, and to the States and civil society that have participated in this session.

Finally, our special thanks go to the secretariat and translators that have worked so hard for this session.

I thank you Mr Vice-President.

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