‘Singapore falls short on rights’

Despite its impressive economic development, Singapore fails to meet international standards for political and human rights and there are concerns about the independence of its judiciary, an association of lawyers said. The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute identified a number of areas in which Singapore fell far short of international norms, said the association’s executive director Mark Ellis. ‘In particular, democratic debate and media comment are extremely restricted and government officials have initiated numerous successful defamation suits against both political and media critics,’ he said in a statement released late Tuesday in London. The rights institute also issued 18 recommendations, which it said Singapore’s government should implement urgently. The group has published a 72-page report on the issue, several months after the IBA held its annual convention in Singapore. The association represents 30,000 lawyers globally. ‘Singapore cannot continue to claim that civil and political rights must take a back seat to economic rights, as its economic development is now of the highest order,’ the report said, calling human rights universal and indivisible. The IBA’s rights institute ‘strongly encourages Singapore to engage with the international community in a more constructive manner, and to take steps to implement international standards of human rights throughout Singapore.’ It called for Singapore to take its place as a regional leader on human rights, democracy and rule of law, as well as in business and economic development. Singapore holds the rotating chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, whose new charter calls for establishment of a regional human rights body. The IBA report said the cases of opposition politicians JB Jeyaretnam and Chee Soon Juan illustrate concerns over the use of defamation laws to stifle political opposition and expression. JB Jeyaretnam, 82, a lawyer, was disbarred when declared bankrupt in 2001 after failing to pay libel damages to members of the ruling People’s Action Party, including a former prime minister.