Despite its impressive economic development, Singapore fails to meet international standards for political and human rights and there are concerns about the independence of its judiciary, an association of lawyers said.
The International Bar Association’s (IBA) Human Rights Institute identified a number of areas in which Singapore fell far short of international norms, said the association’s executive director, Mark Ellis.
“In particular, democratic debate and media comment are extremely restricted and government officials have initiated numerous successful defamation suits against both political and media critics,” he said in a statement released late on Tuesday in London.
The rights institute also issued 18 recommendations, which it said Singapore’s government should implement urgently.
The group has published a 72-page report on the issue, several months after the IBA held its annual convention in Singapore. The association represents 30,000 lawyers globally.
“Singapore cannot continue to claim that civil and political rights must take a back seat to economic rights, as its economic development is now of the highest order,” the report said, calling human rights universal and indivisible.
The IBA’s rights institute “strongly encourages Singapore to engage with the international community in a more constructive manner, and to take steps to implement international standards of human rights throughout Singapore.”
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