We stand in solidarity with M. Ravi, a capital defence lawyer and human rights defender in Singapore with over twenty years of experience. On 21 March 2023, the Court of Three Judges imposed a five year suspension under s83(1)(b) of the Legal Profession Act 1986. M. Ravi was also ordered to pay the costs of [ Read more ]

7 human rights organizations urgently call on the Singaporean authorities to drop their criminal investigations of human rights defenders Kirsten Han and Rocky Howe and cease harassing them through legal processes for their work. On 24 June 2022, the police interrogated Kirsten Han and Rocky Howe for potential offences under the Public Order Act 2009 [ Read more ]

(2 March 2022, Jakarta) ‒ The sentencing of Singaporean activist Jolovan Wham highlights the increasingly repressive space for activists and human rights defenders in Singapore, said the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, and Think Centre in a joint statement today. On 25 February 2022, Jolovan Wham [ Read more ]

October 13, 2021 – Today, ten undersigned organizations called on the Government of Singapore to withdraw the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Bill (‘FICA’). FICA’s provisions contravene international legal and human rights principles – including the rights to freedom of expression, association, participation in public affairs, and privacy – and will further curtail civic space, both online [ Read more ]

Date: Friday, 15 October 2021 Time: 1.00 – 2.15 PM (GMT+7) Register here: l.forum-asia.org/ACSCAPF21 Live via: Zoom   This year’s ASEAN Civil Society Conference / ASEAN Peoples’ Forum eclipses a challenging era for the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) as it deals with the spillover effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the worsening crisis in Myanmar. Eight [ Read more ]

Executive Summary On August 9 and 10, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) conducted the Human Rights in the Time of COVID-19: Addressing the Crisis in Southeast Asia, which was graced by over 75 participants from the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Geneva, 30 September 2021) – Amidst emerging threats to civic space, representatives from civil society called on Singapore’s Government to abide by its international legal obligations and commitments to respect fundamental freedoms in a Human Rights Council side event held on 29 September, a day before the adoption of the outcomes from Singapore’s Universal Periodic [ Read more ]

COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc throughout Southeast Asia. The health crisis has also catalysed the rise of authoritarianism, the over-securitisation of societies, and systemic efforts to suppress democracy, human rights, and fundamental freedoms in the region. Hence, it is critical to activate, strengthen and protect spaces and mechanisms for civil society to defend human rights [ Read more ]

48th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council Item 6: Adoption of the UPR Outcomes of Singapore  Delivered by Soe Min Than On behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) 30 September 2021      Madam President, FORUM-ASIA makes this statement in solidarity with our member Think Centre. We note [ Read more ]

  Date: Wednesday, 29 September 2021 Time: 13:30 – 15:00 (CEST, Geneva) / 18:30 – 20:00 (ICT, Bangkok) / 19:30 – 21:30 (SGT, Kuala Lumpur/Singapore) Register here: l.forum-asia.org/HRC48SG Live via: Zoom, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube   Singapore’s government has continued to arbitrarily restrict the peoples’ rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. Singapore [ Read more ]