Human Rights In Singapore

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Introduction Singapore’s legal framework and policy towards human rights are shaped by vital national development goal highlighting economic growth and social order, also known as the keys of the national policy; (1) the principles of meritocracy; (2) multiracialism, and (3) anti-welfare, whereby taking into consideration that the ideal of human rights as a mean to promote human dignity and social welfare. Being known as an ‘Asian Tiger’, Singapore has accomplished great economic success through its own way of economic management such as extensive intervention in the public and private sector. However, in the aspect of individual rights, Singapore still lacking of a developed human rights culture in terms of rights consciousness, litigation,…show more content…
In 1995, Singapore became the party to the Convention on Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), whereby subjecting itself to the minimal state reporting obligations under CEDAW and CRC. In addition, Singapore is also a party to various International Labour Organisation treaties including Convention 100 on Equal Remuneration. Though so, in considering to accede any treaties, Singapore asserts the sovereignty of domestic laws and seeks to preserve this through treaty reservations in order to protect Singapore’s multi-racial and cultural…show more content…
Aside from that, Singapore unembarrassedly rejects a laissez-faire, libertarian model of free speech, actively adopting legislative and administrative content-based speech restrictions regarding race, religion, and political issues and to maintain community standards of politeness and morality. Freedom of political speech, associational, assembly rights are central to a functioning democratic society, but are restricted by both formal and informal means. An OB marker, short for ‘out of bounds marker, is used in Singapore to denote what topics are permissible for public discussion. The purpose is to delimit the boundaries of what it considers to be legitimate political critics, including insistence that government leaders be addressed respectfully. The Deputy Prime Minister Lee has promised that within the extreme limits’ of race, language, religion or sedition, disagreement over policies is legitimate where the motive is to improve policies, and not for political aims. Matters such as security, foreign policy, and tax are still off

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