"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.