Jon Stewart’s Advocacy Role in 9/11 Bill Passage

NYTimes.com
An article that highlights the role of Jon Stewart in the Zadroga Bill. He had been droning about it for the longest time, even before his Rally to Restore Sanity. Hopefully, this is just the start...

Is there a chance for something similar happening in Singapore? We can only hope.

Public Consultation on proposed Amendments to Consumer Protection Legislation

Ministry of Trade and Industry

Good to see the CPFTA being strengthened. Need to read through the details though. Hopefully, sgwatchdog can send in a submission...

Deadline is 31 January 2011.

Analysts urge closer scrutiny of landbanking business

TODAYonline
Just saw an Order from CEA (via eGazette) excluding land banking from its purview. Sad...

The TODAY article above includes a ludicrous situation.

"CEA said it has consulted the land-banking industry and considered its views on the issue in reaching its decision."

It's akin to ringing up a thief/robber to ask if he wants to be regulated. This is the same kind of attitude that has allowed timeshare companies to flourish and cheat consumers.

Speak Up, Stop Discrimination, Human Rights Day 2010

United Nations
The full Human Rights Day 2010 website is up. Nice of them to showcase the profiles of some of the human rights defenders.

Criticism is not a crime

Human Rights Day 2010
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay's comments on the theme of human rights defenders for Human Rights Day 2010.

On eve of Nobel ceremony, China cracks down and lashes out

WashingtonPost

The more China suppresses this year's Nobel peace Prize winner, the more the world is going to look at China's human rights record...

As Chinese officials intensified their denunciations of prize organizers, police summoned restaurant and bar owners to local police stations and warned against allowing large gatherings on Friday. Some lawyers, writers and academics have been stopped at airports and blocked from boarding their flights; others have been forcibly taken to the countryside. Known activists are under house arrest. And Thursday, several foreign media Web sites and television stations were blocked.

Today is Human Rights Day. This year's theme is on human rights defenders. What an apt choice, yet we seem so powerless to help Liu Xiaobo.

Maynard vs. Norman: No name-calling here

The Day
First came across this story on a segment of The Daily Show.

Did a bit of Googling, and found a local newspaper story on this. It's such a great idea to have opposing candidates debate in a civil manner; hope it'll catch on.

Dr Eric Gan Keng Seng v Singapore Medical Council [2010] SGHC 325

Singapore Law Watch

"On 12 April 2007, Mdm Neo Guat Dee (“Mdm Neo”), the Patient’s wife, lodged a complaint against Dr Gan with the SMC. The Complaints Committee, after considering the expert evidence of Dr Cheng Jun (“Dr Cheng”), specialist in Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre (who later became the sole expert witness for the SMC in its case before the DC), decided that it sufficed to only issue a letter of advice to Dr Gan, advising him to review his practice.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the Complaints Committee, the Patient’s wife wrote to the Minister of Health, who invoked his powers under the Act to convene a Disciplinary Inquiry. Two charges were proffered against Dr Gan and they were set out in the Notice of Inquiry dated 12 August 2008. The first charge alleged that the Pre-cut Technique which Dr Gan had performed on the Patient was beyond the scope of his competence. However nothing in this charge should concern us here as Dr Gan was acquitted by the DC of the first charge (see [6] of GD). Of greater importance is the second charge (“the Charge”) in respect of which the DC had found Dr Gan guilty. The Charge read:

That you [Dr Gan] a registered medical practitioner under the Medical Registration Act (Cap 174), are charged that whilst practising at Alexandra Hospital and the attending physician to [the Patient] for the period 6 December 2005 to 8 December 2005, you were in wilful neglect of your duties and had grossly mismanaged the post-operative treatment of the Patient."

213.251.145.96 a.k.a. WikiLeaks

213.251.145.96
The WikiLeaks website seems to be down. A quick google search shows an alternative way to access it.

This reminds me of one of the final scenes in the V for Vendetta movie, where everyone starts to wear V's mask...

Watch, Cringe and Cry

The Huffington Post

The grainy, jerky 10-minute video, taken on a mobile phone, shows two men from Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua being horribly tortured by members of the Indonesian military. The elder of the two men screams in pain as the soldiers repeatedly burn his genitals with a smoldering piece of wood; the younger man bears a look of abject terror as a large knife is shifted from his throat to his face. No attractive realities of contemporary Indonesia are on display here, and Indonesian authorities have admitted the video is not a work of fiction.

A most vivid and powerful paragraph from the article by Sophie Richardson, Advocacy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division.

Human rights – a central concern for the global HIV response

World Health Organization | World AIDS Day 2010

"People living with HIV should not only enjoy their right to health but also their right to access crucial social services such as education, employment, housing, social security and even asylum in some cases. Ensuring the rights of people living with HIV is good public health practice, by improving the health and well-being of those affected and by making prevention efforts more effective. A wide range of countries have enacted legislation to prevent discrimination against people living with HIV. However, in many cases, there is poor enforcements of such laws and stigmatization of people living with HIV and most-at-risk populations persist."

25th November is a special day

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. It also marks the start of the White Ribbon Campaign.

25th November is also the start of "16 Days of Activism", which links 3 days below together.
- International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25th November)
- World AIDS Day (1st December)
- Human Rights Day (10th December)

But more importantly, it's AWARE's birthday, and it's 25 years old this year.

Happy Birthday. :)

Myanmar's Sham Election

International Herald Tribune
I'm quite pissed at some of the articles I've seen, about giving a chance to the elections in Burma/Myanmar. We need to call a spade a spade. Nick Clegg's op-ed piece in the link above is one that calls for continued pressure on the military junta.

Speak Up Stop Discrimination

The theme for Human Rights Day 10 December 2010 is human rights defenders who act to end discrimination.

Understanding and Preventing Mass Atrocity Crimes: A Regional Perspective

The NUS Centre for International Law is organising a talk on genocide prevention.

Date: 11 November 2010 (Thursday)
Time: 11:00am-12:30pm
Venue: NUS Bukit Timah Campus, Block B, Level 3, Executive Seminar Room

More details in the link here.

WHO simplifies treatment of mental and neurological disorders

World Health Organization
How is this related to human rights? See extract from the news release below for the clues.

"People with mental, neurological and substance use disorders are often stigmatized and subject to neglect and abuse."

The guide can be downloaded below.
mhGAP Intervention Guide for mental, neurological and substance use disorders in non-specialized health settings (PDF)

Hong Kong - Public Consultation on enhanced consumer protection legislation

The Hong Kong government is launching a public consultation on proposals to strengthen its consumer protection legislation to tackle unfair trade practices.

The consultation paper
http://www.cedb.gov.hk/citb/ehtml/pdf/consultation/Consultation_Paper_07_15_e.PDF

There's also a Facebook page, www.facebook.com/ConsumerProtectionReview.

Tools and tactics for your digital security

Security In A Box

Security in-a-box is one of a few toolkits crafted by the Tactical Technology Collective, the same group that did the 10 tactics film highlighted in the post below.

What I like about this toolkit is the way it's written. Each topic has a nicely-written background scenario, like the one below.

Assani is a human rights activist in a Francophone African country. His two teenage children, Salima and Muhindo, have offered to help him with some routine computer work he has been asked to do. After seeing the state of his computer, they offer to teach him the basics of how to keep it healthy and functional. Assani also likes the idea of using Free and Open Source Software, but he's not sure whether that would be more or less secure, so he asks for their advice.

Quite cool, if you ask me.

BlackBerry Bans Suggest a Scary Precedent: Crypto Wars Again?

Electronic Frontier Foundation

The proposed bans on Blackberry service in several countries suddenly got me thinking; how are such transmissions monitored in Singapore?

Anyway, it really is sad that we allow governments around the world free rein to wiretap ordinary civilians just because they brandish the 'terrorist' card.

10 tactics for turning information into action

1. mobilise people
2. witness and record
3. visualise your message
4. amplify personal stories
5. just add humour
6. manage your contacts
7. use complex data
8. use collective intelligence
9. let people ask the questions
10. investigate and expose

Why should death sentences be mandatory?

TODAYonline
A commentary piece that asks for more discretion to be given to our judges. For me, besides the human rights angle to the issue, I think the simple way to advocate to the man on the street is to highlight that the death penalty is not reversible. For example, if new evidence is found after a person is executed, it is not possible to undo the sentence.

Burma annuls Suu Kyi poll victory

BBC NEWS
It seems the so-called "elections" in Burma this year will simply be a process to entrench the rule of the military junta.

A Women's Day forgotten?

Yesterday, I was having dinner at home at 9pm. My mum was watching the Channel U news. She remarked that it was Women's Day. I told her to see if there was any coverage on the TV news. By the end of the half-hour news, we heard no mention of it at all.

This morning, I took a quick check on ChannelNewsAsia (Chinese) and Straits Times, even The Online Citizen; no coverage :(

Was it because women's issues were no longer serious problem, i.e. women now have it good?

Sadly, it isn't so.

The stats below (a little outdated) show that women generally earn 73% of what men earn.
http://app.mcys.gov.sg/web/Women_Economy_17.asp

This statistic, simplistic as it may be; but it highlights that Singapore has a long way to go before we can start thinking about forgetting Women's Day.

Gendercide - The worldwide war on baby girls

economist.com
The most extreme form of discrimination against women...

11 Myths and Facts about Feminism

Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE)

This appeared in my inbox today, courtesy of a Google Alert. Great explanation of common misconceptions about feminism. I like this one below.

Myth: The fact that there are some women who have a higher social and economic status than some men means inequality has been eliminated.

Fact: Systematic inequalities continue to exist at every level of society. There may be female heads of Fortune 500 companies but the fact that they constitute less than 5% of the total means that barriers remain.

A recent visit to the ISEAS website also reveals a recent bulletin (PDF) from the Gender Studies Programme. The feature article highlights several worrying trends in ASEAN. One particular example is the seemingly bigger gender gap in countries which are more developed.

Disclosure: I am a AWARE member. [and proud to be one] :)

Equality and Human Rights Commission urges review of torture case

BBC NEWS

The independent watchdog has called for a review of the alleged collusion between the UK and other governments regarding torture cases.

Caution against improper weight control

Department of Health, Hong Kong

One wonders why people would consider consuming products containing parasites for weight control.

A department spokesman said infestation of parasites, such as Ascaris, as slimming means had no scientific basis. On the contrary, it could cause abdominal pain and distention, vomiting, diarrhoea and malnutrition.

Safety and good health comes first.

Taking an 'inner-tube taxi' to Thailand

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific |

The key point of the article is the last paragraph on sanctions.

World Health Day campaign: 1000 Cities, 1000 Lives

WHO | World Health Day – 7 April 2010

Urbanisation and health is a nice fresh theme to choose. WHO's blurb below

Virtually all population growth over the next 30 years will be in urban areas, signaling that urbanization is here to stay. It is associated with many health challenges related to water, environment, violence and injury, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and their risk factors like tobacco use, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, harmful use of alcohol as well as the risks associated with disease outbreaks.

Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

United Nations

New UN website on the issue of sexual abuse.

Consumer protection news around the world

MemberPressReview-DEC2009.pdf

Consumers International rounds up issues highlighted by its member organisations, and presents them in an easy to digest format. Do take a look.

Burma's Political Prisoners

Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
The FCO of the UK government is carrying out a campaign to highlight the political prisoners in the run-up to elections in Burma this year.

More details on this FCO webpage.

Import of candy containing light bulb

AVA Circular (pdf)
I'm struggling to wonder why a manufacturer will produce a candy which contains a light bulb. Glad to see the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) releasing a warning, but I didn't see it mentioned in the media yet.

liberty central

guardian.co.uk

liberty central is the section in the Guardian newspaper website dealing with civil liberties and human rights issues. One useful sub-section is a legal clinic dedicated to answering questions on human rights.

"Me and My Friend Enjoy A Movie" @ Golden Village, Great World City

Asian Film Archive (AFA) Blog
A quick summary by AFA on the MARUAH event that happened earlier this month. The Q&A session started slowly (as usual for Singapore Q&As) but became very multi-dimensional (and enriching) as it went on. We ran out of time at 9pm. Thanks to all who attended.

Thai Army begins mass deportation of Hmong refugees back to Laos

France24
This is an example of the many trans-national issues that the AICHR needs to tackle if it is to be of any benefit to the people of ASEAN.

ASEAN, Human Rights, and the West

RSIS1292009.pdf (application/pdf Object)
A new commentary piece from RSIS, summary below. Note: link above is a PDF file.

"The common belief that the Western powers are putting pressure on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to change its stance on human rights is erroneous. Hence, proponents of human rights diplomacy in Southeast Asia should not count on these powers."

European Parliament resolution of 26 November 2009 on the human rights situation in Laos and Vietnam

Texts adopted - Thursday, 26 November 2009 - Laos and Vietnam - P7_TA-PROV(2009)0104
The European Parliament recently passed several resolutions on 4 countries, regarding their human rights situations. A quick extract of Laos and Vietnam from the press release below.

Laos
MEPs welcome the recent ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by the Laotian Government.

The resolution repeats the demand for the immediate release of the leaders of the "Student Movement of 26 October 1999" and of all those arrested during the attempted peaceful demonstrations on 2 November 2009.

Parliament also calls on the Thai authorities to release 158 Lao Hmong refugees currently in detention and allow them to resettle in Thailand or in the United States, Canada, the Netherlands or Australia, which have already agreed to take them in.

Vietnam
MEPs condemn the reported violent expulsion of more than 150 monks and nuns from monasteries and call for an end to all persecution and harassment of Buddhists. They also demand the unconditional release of Thich Quang Do and a re-establishment of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam and of its dignitaries.

The Vietnamese Government is urged to curb its violations of freedom of expression, freedom of religion and freedom of assembly. Moreover, the resolution requests a binding and unambiguous clause on human rights and democracy to be incorporated into the current negotiations on the new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Vietnam.

casebank

Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS)
A new sub-website by CCS, specifically on the cases taken up by them.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) by JTC

I spotted this interesting announcement recently...

JTC Corporation (JTC) plans to carry out land reclamation works and construction of a current training wall at Marina South. Studies have been carried out to determine the impact of the works on the marine environment.

The environmental impact assessment is available for public viewing by appointment at, The JTC Summit, 8 Jurong Town Hall Road, for 4 weeks with effect from 15 December 2009. To view the report, please contact Ms Tan Su Chern at 6883-3835 or via email at suchern@jtc.gov.sg or Mr Darren Lum at 6883-3834 or via email at lumsyd@jtc.gov.sg.

Anyone who wishes to access the report after 15 December 2009 can contact the above officers to make arrangements for viewing.

sgwatchDOG has been neglecting environmental issues for a while, so it is great to see some due diligence being done by the government before major construction works. But it would be better if the EIA is simply placed in the public domain online...

No respite for China's dissidents

BBC NEWS | Programmes | From Our Own Correspondent
A hard-hitting piece on how human rights can easily slide backwards if neglected and suppressed. Even though the article is on China, one can see the similarities in many other countries.

2 more ASEAN countries reviewed under UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR)

Cambodia and Brunei are the 2 latest ASEAN countries to undergo review under the UPR process. The reports are still being finalised, but highlights are available. Click on the following links. (Cambodia) (Brunei)

Spectrum of Allies

Training for Change

One of the useful tools that I picked up in the 3-week International Visitor Leadership Program in the US, taught to our group by the kind folks at the Intercommunity Justice & Peace Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

CEDAW at 30

30th Anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
The landmark convention on gender discrimination turns 30. UN conventions are useful as tools to benchmark countries, and also to put human rights violations under international spotlight.

World Consumer Rights Day 2010

Consumers International

The theme for World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) 2010 is ‘Our money, our rights’ and will highlight consumer issues in relation to financial services.

Tutorial centre's PSLE ad misleads anxious parents

channelnewsasia.com
Sad to see a business that is so desperate that it tried to prey on anxious parents keen to give their children that "extra" edge. Great that this is now public.

Asean and human rights: closing the implementation gap

The Nation
Homayoun Alizadeh, the OHCHR rep in Southeast Asia, makes a quite convincing argument for regional systems to advance (instead of retard) human rights.

Twisted rhetoric from Young PAP

Young PAP - To The Devotees of Western Democracy and Human Rights.
sgwatchdog saw this article highlighted in The Online Citizen. It is tiring to see yet another attempt to create a myth that human rights is a solely Western (or American) idea. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted by a group of people, including reps from China and Lebanon. Plenty of non-Western countries voted in favour of the UDHR during its adoption. Also, the US is one of the few prominent countries that has not ratified the key UN human rights conventions. So it is misleading to try to portray human rights advocates as pro-American or pro-West. The usage of the word "devotees" is also sad, as the author is trying to imply that human rights activists are trying to "convert" others to practice the "religion" of human rights. Rights and beliefs are not the same.

Public consultation on proposed changes to regulations on estate agents

Ministry of National Development
The public consultation is now on. Do contribute your feedback to ask for more consumer protection.

U.N. Isn't Addressing Fraud in Afghan Election - washingtonpost.com

washingtonpost.com
When will Singapore get a whistle-blower like the ex-deputy special representative of the United Nations in Afghanistan?

'Buyer beware' works well with papaya

The New Paper
Another great article from Larry Haverkamp (a.k.a. Doctor Money). Larry talks about one of his pet topics; hidden charges in financial products.

Convention on the Rights of the Child turns 20

Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
One of the UN's most ratified conventions turns 20 this year. A blurb from the website below.

"The celebration will focus on the theme “Dignity, Development and Dialogue,” and will provide an important opportunity to bring together States parties, United Nations bodies and other intergovernmental organizations, national human rights institutions, international and national non-governmental organizations, children’s and youth groups, academics and all others interested in the CRC."

Embrace diversity, End discrimination

Human Rights Day 2009
This year's theme for Human Rights Day (10th December) is out. Do check out the UN link above.

SMS service provider fined $65,000

Sybase 365's Multiple Breaches of the Premium Rate Services Code (PDF)
Sybase was punished by IDA for breaches for 3 of its services. One particular breach was for a considerably long period of 13 months. During this period, Sybase had continued to collect payment on an ongoing basis from 2,766 subscribers. The company has previously been sanctioned in 2008.

Awareness Seminar on Draft International Standard ISO 26000 - Guidance on Social Responsibility

The ISO standard on Corporate Social Responsibility is reaching its final phase of development. It has been a long journey. I have been following the issue on-and-off via Consumers International (CI) coverage of the issue.

SPRING is organising an event to highlight this new international standard to Singapore businesses.

Date: 5 October 2009 (Monday)
Time: 1.30pm - 4.30pm
Venue:
Theatrette, Level 1
TÜV SÜD PSB Pte Ltd
1 Science Park Drive
Singapore 118221

Myanmar allegations highlight Singapore bank secrecy

AFP

Sad to see this happening. Hopefully pressure from organisations like OECD will force some changes.

UN to establish single new agency to deal with rights of women

UN news centre
UNIFEM, DAW, OSAGI, and INSTRAW to be merged...

Dads 'to share maternity leave'

BBC NEWS
The details are not mentioned, but this looks like a great victory for gender equity in the UK.

Closing loopholes in fee protection scheme

asiaone
Full article at straitstimes.com. Sandra hits out at lack of protection for local students.

MAS Issues First Part of Response to Feedback on Proposals to Strengthen the Regulation of the Sale and Marketing of Unlisted Investment Products

Monetary Authority of Singapore
19 page response, and there's part 2 in Q4. Time to read and digest...

Send in the clowns

yawning bread
Alex is back in action. Nice hard-hitting article that goes straight to the heart of the matter.

FM invites candidate for ASEAN human rights panel

Nationmultimedia.com
Great to see the open selection process by Thailand finally kick off. I wonder if the Singapore government will be "enlightened" enough to follow suit.

Making AICHR work for Asean citizens

The Nation
Updates on the AICHR, including the political declaration, and the proposed statement on Aung San Suu Kyi.

Consultation workshop on ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights

The Singapore Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism (MARUAH) would like to invite you to a Consultation Workshop: “Engaging the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) – The People’s Views”. Read more in our e-flyer.

Details below
Saturday, 22 August 2009
8.30 am to 3.45 pm
Novotel Hotel, Clarke Quay
177A River Valley Road
Singapore, 179031

Sign up online here

Alternatively, you can fill up the registration form.

Pressuring the Burmese Junta

NYTimes.com
Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyer does make a good point to focus on the overall situation in Burma, and not just the plight of Aung San Suu Kyi alone.

'Dirty war' general found guilty

BBC NEWS
When will we see something similar for the generals in Burma?

UNESCO Remembers Assassinated Journalists

UNESCO
Quite shocked to see the large number of journalists who were assassinated in the exercise of their profession.

Short but meaningful

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore
Good to see a quick response from MFA. Now the real work of the ASEAN Human Rights Body begins...

MFA Spokesman's Statement on Reports of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Being Charged

Singapore is dismayed by this latest development. This is a setback for the national reconciliation process. We reiterate the call for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from detention. We are also concerned about recent reports on her poor health, and that the arrest may exacerbate her condition.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
15 MAY 2009

Be aware of counterfeit medicines

Even though the situation is not rampant in Singapore, there's no harm to do the proper checks when you buy (and consume) medicines.

Download the PDF guide here.

Human Organ Transplant Act

Channelnewsasia.com

"In Tuesday's voting, four MPs chose to abstain, while Christopher De Souza voted against the amendment.

Those who abstained were Opposition MP Low Thia Khiang, Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim, MP for Jalan Besar GRC Denise Phua, and the Chairperson for the Group Parliamentary Committee for Health, Halimah Yacob."

Save lives. Make hospitals safe in emergencies

World Health Day 2009 - WHO
An eclectic (but imo, a good) choice of theme for this year's World Health Day.

2008 Human Rights Report: Singapore

US State Department
Part of the annual report on the human rights situation in countries all over the world, sgwatchDOG wonders how much research was gathered directly by the State Department...

The wrong and right kind of letter

BBC - Watchdog
a.k.a. how to write a complaint letter...

Universal Periodic Review (UPR) - Malaysia

Highlights 11 February 2009 pm
The Human Rights Council has reviewed the human rights situation in Malaysia through the new UPR process.

Collective court action against True Spa

TODAYonline

Ms Tan said she left her contact details in over 50 forums before rallying together 15 others who wanted to seek legal recourse — after her complaints to the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) and Small Claims Tribunal did not make much headway.

A pity that CASE or SCT could not resolve the disputes; now it's up to the CPFTA to live up to its promises...

UNESCO & press freedom

Director-General condemns assassination of Somali journalist Said Tahlil Ahmed - | UNESCO.ORG
I didn't know that UNESCO deals with press freedom issues. Seems it's actually one of their main focus areas.

UNESCO is the only United Nations agency with a mandate to defend freedom of expression and press freedom.

Good for them. A quick google search reveals their webpage on press freedom.

US detention executive orders

The ICRC position

"There is no contradiction between State security and the protection of the rights and liberties of individuals"

Good to see the ICRC taking a clear stance; hope other states change their minds regarding anti-terrorism laws that curtail the rights of individuals, after this change by the Obama administration.

Creating the UDHR

UNITED NATIONS | Dag Hammarskjöld Library
The UN has created a new website to document the drafting process that led to the UDHR.

Sign a petition for better wildlife laws?

Youth.SG :: Singapore - Sign a petition for better wildlife laws
I was looking for activities at the Youth Park when I stumbled across the above page on the Youth.SG website. Granted the law mentioned may really be "severely outdated and riddled with loopholes", but I think it would be more appropriate to engage Singaporean youths on Singapore law, unless Youth.SG thinks all the laws in Singapore are updated and without loopholes...

Apparent mortality leap in Timor-Leste was due to method change, UNICEF says

UNICEF
Good to see the UN coming clean to clarify the statistics.

BBC NEWS | Americas | Obama acts on Guantanamo trials

BBC NEWS | Americas | Obama acts on Guantanamo trials
Wow, this is a dream start to the new Presidency...

Scrutinising the Budget

PFM blog
Singapore's annual budget comes early this year, this Thursday specifically. After getting a taste of CEDAW shadow reporting (and specifically gender budgeting), sgwatchDOG has been looking to expand onto the entire Budget. Still trying to pick up some key phrases along the way. One of these keywords is "Performance budgeting", something which the above IMF blog often mentions.

Making A Commitment

As part of the U60 celebrations of the recent 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), MARUAH (Singapore Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism) held an event to emphasize the importance of Articles 23-25 of the UDHR, which deals with fair and just conditions for workers.

This event, Making A Commitment, was held on 13 December 2008 at Speakers’ Corner. Organized by MARUAH with support from partners such as Action for Aids, AWARE, Transient Workers Count Too, HOME and individuals, a number of speakers spoke up on the need for protection for vulnerable communities such as contract workers, the elderly, those with disabilities, migrant workers, persons living with HIV and people who are homosexuals or transgender.

Members of the public were invited to make a pledge – a commitment – to affirm their stand which many did by holding up placards with a chosen slogan promoting a workplace issue. These were captured on video by volunteers, Mr Patrick Chng and Ms Stephanie Chok, as a New Year resolution for 2009 to treat all workers with dignity.


Making A Commitment 2009 (Singapore) from PC on Vimeo.

Today is Human Rights Day

BBC NEWS | Special Reports | World marks UN Human Rights Day
A comprehensive news report from BBC. Let's celebrate 60 years of the UDHR.

U60 - TWC2 workshop on foreign workers

A good workshop session at Substation, organised by TWC2.

U60 - TOC's 2nd birthday

Speeches galore at Speakers Corner at Hong Lim park.

U60 - public awareness walk to end violence against women

A walk to raise awareness on ending violence against women. Internationally, there are "16 days of activism", revolving around 3 major commemorative days

It was a leisurely walk from Botanic Gardens to the UNIFEM office at Nassim Road.

U60 - film screening at substation

It was great to see a full-house for the film screening.

The dialogue was wonderful too, lots of issues were discussed...

OHCHR Country Framework - Historical context / Political context

Part 2 below should be more "exciting" than Part 1. Here we can draw references to past historical issues (which we may have forgotten) that affect current ongoing issues, e.g. peace process/agreement in Part 2d. With the election of Barack Obama in the United States, there was a discussion of whether Singapore was ready for a non-Chinese Prime Minister. History buffs would know that this is a moot point, as David Marshall was Chief Minister (the equivalent to a Prime Minister) during our self-governance years.

2. HISTORICAL CONTEXT/POLITICAL CONTEXT

1. Historical brief:
1. Temasek
2. Raffles
3. Farquhar
4. Divide-and-rule (Chinatown, Kampong Glam, Little India)
   
5. Japanese occupation
6. David Marshall
   
7. Lee Kuan Yew
8. Housing & Development Board (HDB)
9. National Trades Union Congress (NTUC)
10. Operation Coldstore
    
11. Merger
    
12. Independence
13. National Service
14. Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
15. Central Provident Fund (CPF)
16. Operation Spectrum
17. Group Representation Constituencies
    
2. Self-determination (foreign occupation; alien domination; colonial presence; racist regimes; independence movements):
1. colonial presence
2. independence movements
3. Parties to the conflict:
1. no conflict
   
4. Peace process/agreement:
1. David Marshall
   
2. self-government
3. Lee Kuan Yew
   
5. Recent political transitions (First elections; revolution; coup d'état; new constitution):
1. none
   
6. Form of government:
1. parliament
2. http://www.parliament.gov.sg/
7. Principal political parties:
1. People's Action Party
2. Singapore Democratic Alliance
3. Singapore Democratic Party
4. Workers' Party
8. Conflict level (international armed conflict; internal armed conflict; state of emergency; civil disorder/sporadic acts of violence; normality; post-conflict reconstruction; etc.):
1. normality
9. Relationships with neighbouring countries:
1. generally cordial, with occasional issues
10. Membership in political/military/regional alliances:
1. ASEAN
2. APEC
3. PSI
4. FPDA
   
11. Legally sanctioned discrimination (race, colour, gender, language, religion, opinion, origin, property, birth, sexual orientation, other status):
1. race
   
1. race restrictions in the armed forces
2. Group Representation Constituencies
   
2. gender
   
1. CEDAW reservations
2. females excluded from Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship (SAFOS)
3. religion
1. jehovah's witnesses
4. birth
1. certain IC numbers indicate origin of birth
   
5. sexual orientation
1. 377A of Penal Code

1st event of U60

Photos from the children's storytelling sessions on 29th & 30th November 2008 at Jurong Regional Library.

It was a great experience to see the story of Rosa Parks being told to children, especially since most of them looked younger than 7 years old (Primary 1).

OHCHR Country Framework - General Context

Below is part 1 of my take on human rights in Singapore, using the OHCHR Country Framework as a guide. I hope to use this as a systematic tool to evaluate human rights in Singapore. Part 1 doesn't look related to human rights (to a Singaporean), but if you peel past a few layers, you can "imagine" some scenarios. For example, the presence of several ethnic groups suggests that racial equality may be an issue to be discussed.

1. GENERAL CONTEXT
1. Official name of country:
   
1. Republic of Singapore
2. http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/
2. Geographic location:
   
1. South-East Asia
   
3. Area:
1. 707.1 square kilometres
2. http://www.singstat.gov.sg/stats/keyind.html
4. Terrain (topography):
   
1. Mainly flat
5. Infrastructure:
1. Internal - expressways, trains, buses, taxis, cars
2. External - airport, port, train
   
6. Capital city:
1. No capital city, most facilities associated with a capital city located in the Central Business District (CBD)
   
7. Other major cities:
1. Regional towns: Woodlands, Tampines, Jurong
   
8. Climate:
   
1. Characterised by uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity and abundant rainfall
2. http://app.nea.gov.sg/cms/htdocs/article.asp?pid=1088
9. Water resources:
1. Malaysia
   
2. catchment areas
3. NEWater
4. desalination
   
10. Ethnic groups:
    
1. Chinese
2. Malay
3. Indian
4. Other
11. Languages:
1. English
2. Chinese
3. Malay
4. Tamil
   
12. Religions:
1. Buddhism
2. Taoism
3. Islam
4. Hinduism
5. Christianity

A systematic approach to tackling human rights violations

With so many human rights issues , how does one decide which one to tackle first?

NGOs often blame governments for not tackling issues systematically, but what about the NGOs themselves?

There are several "systems" to consider.

• Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) country framework
• Human Rights Information and Documentation Systems, International (HURIDOCS) OpenEvsys system
• Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process

I used inverted commas for systems, because the 3 above are very different animals.

• The OHCHR country framework is useful as a FAQ into the background of a country
• The HURIDOCS system is a database used to document human rights violations
• The UPR is a new UN process where each country's human rights record is reviewed periodically (Singapore is due for reporting in 2011)

I think I'll start with the OHCHR country framework. Actually, I have to admit that I first came across this document in 2006. The project has stayed dormant. I hope to kickstart the process again...

U60 - 60 years of human rights

U60
The UDHR is 60 years old next month. Do attend any of the U60 events to commemorate this historic occasion, and reflect on human rights in Singapore.

OpenEvsys

HURIDOCS Portal
This is a (in-progress) project worth keeping track of. Basically, it's a web-based system for managing information about human rights violations. For too long, NGOs have been rallying for change using catchy phrases, big numbers, etc. It's imperative that an evidence-based approach is adopted. We shouldn't be having a campaign just because the international community is having one. We need to ask if the same human rights violation is happening in Singapore.

p.s. Looks like it's time for me to pull up my socks and finish up my long dormant project of putting the UN Training Manual on Human Rights Monitoring into practice.

My 18 hours under the Internal Security Act

My Sinchew
sgwatchDOG is concerned about the events happening in Malaysia. It's comforting to see the reporter (who was detained under the ISA) write again, but 2 more persons remain detained. sgwatchDOG also finds the reason given for detaining the Sin Chew reporter to be disturbing.

Syed Hamid said Tan's detention under the ISA was part of the police's swift action to ensure her safety after she received threatening calls.

Click here for the full article on the reporter's release and the reasons given for her detention.

International Day of Democracy, 15 September 2008

United Nations
It's a bit strange to see that a day was not set aside to commemorate democracy, especially since days are set aside for so many different causes.

Until now, that is. The United Nations (UN) will be having a International Day of Democracy on 15th September 2008.

3 new public consultations

Spotted 3 new public consultations today

• MOM - Employment Act
• CCS - Leniency Programme
• URA - Survey on restaurants, food shops and pubs
  in non-HDB private shophouses near residential estates

Same old, same old

The Star, Malaysia
A strongly worded commentary piece from a Malaysian newspaper. sgwatchDOG agrees with one of the points made in the article.

Ultimately it has to come from within.

CAD investigates LePrime School of Technical and Fundamental

CAD FAQ page
sgwatchDOG just spotted this FAQ page on the CAD website. CAD does not clarify what it is investigating LePrime for, but the following from the LePrime website provides a few hints

LePrime primary business direction is conducting courses on the understanding of financial tools and the use of them. In addition to our primary business, LePrime also provides consultancy services with regards to specific financial / economic markets.

It is possible that CAD is investigating for inproper practice regarding financial/investment products. Buyer Beware...

Woman pays $2,600 for 'upgraded' PSP

The New Paper
Another sad story of a consumer being cheated. sgwatchDOG sometimes wonder if these incidents can ever be prevented. Do consumers need to "get bitten" before they wise up?

Anyway, in this case, sgwatchDOG believes the consumer can still pursue this dispute via the Small Claims Tribunals, citing the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act. In particular, the consumer can mention that she is a victim of an unfair practice, specifically the following (No. 1 of 20 specific unfair practices)

1. Representing that goods or services have sponsorship, approval, performance characteristics, accessories, ingredients, components, qualities, uses or benefits that they do not have.

8. Charging a price for goods or services that is substantially higher than an estimate provided to the consumer, except where the consumer has expressly agreed to the higher price in advance.