International Human Rights Day reminds us of the enormous efforts still required to make human rights a reality for all. Human rights education will enables our people to be better informed of international perspectives on the human rights and better appreciate the value of human life.
UN Video: Human Rights Day 2009 |
On this Human Rights Day, December 10, we celebrate the 61st year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document reflects humanity's aspirations for a future of prosperity, dignity and peaceful coexistence.
It heralds the "advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want," proclaiming this as "the highest aspiration of the common people."
National Moratorium on the Death Penalty
The third article of the UDHR concerns every individual's right to life. It is in this light that Think Centre applauds the decision of the Court of Appeal on December 8th, 2009, to stay the execution of Malaysian Yong Vui Kong, until the due and full process of the law has run its course.
Think Centre joins other supporters and activists in Singapore in calling for a national moratorium of the death penalty. We hope commuting the death sentences to more appropriate sentences will give offenders a chance for reform and rehabilitation.
ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR)
Singapore recently appointed its very first Human Rights commissioner to the AICHR, but what does this mean for the people on the streets? How much do we Singaporeans know about human rights? Are we afraid of the idea of human rights?
The AICHR mandate is to promote human rights, including the UDHR - Universal Declaration on Human Rights. The ASEAN Charter requires the signatories to respect human rights.
However, a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) is also needed to better promote and protect human rights. The NHRI is a means to effectively promote and guarantee human rights. It should be an independent authority established by law to protect the human rights of all the people living in this country.
Initiatives to Promote Human Rights
Think Centre hopes to do its part to create greater awareness and deeper understanding of human rights in Singapore by holding workshops and distributing the UDHR.
Our initiatives include printing and distributing the simplified version of the UDHR during a workshop on December 5, as part of a series of events to celebrate Human Rights Day.
Civil society organizations should be encouraged and provided with support to promote and protect human rights; especially the right to opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association, and to monitor fundamental human rights.
Economic growth should strengthen fundamental rights of the peoples and should not be used to weaken respect for human rights.
We invite interested parties to work with us in advancing human rights and human rights education in Singapore.
Some of the human rights challenges we face today in Singapore:
* Singaporean workers are the hardest hit by global financial crisis. The working people should have a living wage and sufficient time for meaningful participation. An unemployment rate of 5.9% means that 116,300 people are jobless and are without unemployment insurance.
* There is limited space for freedom of expression, opinion and assembly. Without these channels, the people's voices are emasculated.
* The most vulnerable migrant workers, especially the domestic workers, continue to suffer hardship and abuse. They are not even covered under the Employment Act.
* Singapore continues to be the country with the highest executions per capita. Mandatory death sentences are even applied in non-violent cases, such as drug trafficking.
* Human rights awareness is very limited; the people on the street do not know the UDHR or their rights as human beings and citizens.
* There is no human rights education in schools. Education is the natural enemy of ignorance. It changes attitudes. It promotes understanding, compassion and tolerance. It is the basis upon which a genuine and lasting respect for human rights is founded.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that every individual and every organ of society, keeping the Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for the rights and freedoms contained in it.
"We must work for the full implementation of human rights on the ground in a way that affects and improves the lives of the men, women and children who are all entitled, regardless of their race, sex, religion, nationality, property or birth, to realization of each and every right set forth in the Universal Declaration (2008: Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay)
International Human Rights Day reminds us of the enormous efforts still required to make human rights a reality for all. Human rights education will enables our people to be better informed of international perspectives on the human rights and better appreciate the value of human life.
Call to Singaporeans
This International Human Rights Day, Think Centre calls on Singaporeans to support its call to the government to: - remove mandatory death sentences for non-violent crimes; - institutionalize human rights education in schools and the community - to establish a National Human Rights Institution; - ensure all Members of Parliament read, understand and respect the UDHR, CEDAW and CRC; - ensure the relevant Ministries, especially the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Manpower, and the Ministry for Community Development, Youth and Sports, actively promote and respect the UDHR, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC); - sign and ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. |
Let us remake Singapore not only into a global city, but also cultivate a vibrant society that is progressive and humane.
Think Centre wishes you a reflective International Human Rights Day 2009.
Sources and Relevant Links:
United Nations The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Know Your Rights Know Your Rights 2008 - dignity and justice for all of us
PANWAPA Explore PANWAPA
ASEANWEB ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR)
ASEAN Sec Terms of Reference of ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights
Straits Times Asean human rights body launched 24 October 2009
Reuters U.N rights chief disappointed on new ASEAN body 22 July 2009
