Human rights groups CIVICUS and FORUM-ASIA call on UN member states to urge the government of Singapore to protect civic freedoms as its human rights record is examined by the UN Human Rights Council on 12 May 2021 as part of the 38th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). At the country’s second UPR [ Read more ]

UPDATE (March 5, 2021): The Singapore police have summoned PJ Thum, New Naratif’s Founder and Managing Director, for another round of questioning on March 5, 2021.  According to Thum, the police have declined to return his laptop and phone, which were seized on September 18, 2020, until the conclusion of the ongoing investigation. Amnesty International, [ Read more ]

Ahead of New Naratif Managing Director Dr Thum Ping Tjin’s police questioning due 5 March 2021, FORUM-ASIA Executive Director Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu said: FORUM-ASIA calls on the government of Singapore to withdraw its police report, repeal repressive laws such as the Parliamentary Actions Act, and end its intimidation against independent media. Attempts to silence critical [ Read more ]

Joint Statement: Condemning The Arrest of Peaceful Protestors Against LGBT Discrimination in Singapore (29 January 2021, Bangkok/Kuala Lumpur/Manila) — We, the undersigned, are alarmed by the arrest of the three individuals who were exercising their right to assembly in a peaceful protest against transphobia outside the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Singapore earlier this week [ Read more ]

We, the undersigned civil society organizations, urge the government of Singapore to order the Elections Department (ELD) to immediately withdraw its police report against New Naratif, and to cease abusing the law to harass critical voices and independent journalists. On 18 September 2020, Singapore’s Elections Department released a press statement in which it stated that [ Read more ]

Singapore: Take steps towards the abolition of the death penalty (Bangkok/Singapore, 30 September 2020) – Singapore should take steps towards the total abolition of the death penalty, keeping in mind the international human rights standards on the right to life, and the absolute prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment, the [ Read more ]

Singapore: Think Centre condemns impending execution of Syed Suhail bin Syed Zin 17 September 2020 As dawn breaks on 18 September, Singaporean, Syed Suhail bin Syed Zin, will be executed by the State. His impending execution is a grim reminder that Singapore’s factory of death has never ceased. The execution is a tragic irony and [ Read more ]

Think Centre’s concerns on distressed migrant workers during the pandemic Think Centre expresses concern over the recent spate of incidents involving distressed migrant workers residing in purpose-built-dormitories. Migrant workers are undeniably one of the biggest groups affected by the COVID-19 since it broke out among the dormitories in early April. Early control measures involved the [ Read more ]

Singapore: Open letter to parliamentary candidates and political party leaders to prioritise fundamental freedoms As Singaporeans prepare to go to the polls in parliamentary elections on 10 July 2020, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation and the International Commission of Jurists urge all parliamentary candidates and [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Singapore, 29 May 2020) – The summoning of activist Jolovan Wham by the Singaporean authorities for posting a picture on social media, including on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, points to an escalating repression of human rights defenders in the country. In a joint statement, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), and Singapore-based [ Read more ]