U60 launches human rights anniversary celebrations
Wednesday, 3 December 2008, 12:08 pm | 514 views
Tng Wen Quan / Davin Choo
This year, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) celebrates its 60th anniversary. With the support of organizing partners Maruah and The Online Citizen, and the backing of 19 organizations, a group of young people have formed the U60 committee. Their aim is to get Singaporeans talking about and participating in a human rights discourse through a series of events that are to run through December.
Ms. Clara Feng, Co-chairperson of U60 Organising Committee, opened the event at the National Library on Tuesday with an opening speech which touched on the definitions of Human Rights and the reason U60 was set up. She made it a point to mention and thank all 19 partners for helping make this series of commemorative events a reality.
Speaking next was Ms. Constance Singam, President of AWARE. Ms. Singam emphasized the importance of an on-going effort for the fight for human rights in Singapore. ‘Human right is not a very hip thing to talk about in Singapore,’ she said. ‘It has been an uphill task, and it is good that we have new blood to carry the torch forward.’
Ms Singam was also speaking on behalf of Ms Breama Mathi, chairperson of MARUAH (Singapore Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism).
Mr. Choo Zheng Xi, Editor-in-chief of The Online Citizen and co-chairperson of the U60 Committee, thanked the many partners that have stepped forward to ‘normalize the human rights discourse’ and who are helping find new and creative ways to bring human rights messages to Singaporeans.
He went on to relate the UDHR to the work of activists in Singapore, saying that ‘more important than how we do our work as activists, is why we do it.
‘Today, we come together to reaffirm the unifying principles of our work, all of which can be found in the UDHR’. He quoted Article 19 of the UDHR on freedom of expression to show how it informs the vision of The Online Citizen, and urged the audience to ‘find a right in the UDHR that relates to you, and share that with the organizations you work with.’
H.E.Holger Standertskjold-Nordenstam, Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Singapore, touched on the importance of respect between human beings and the shared dignity of humanity. According to him, it is through respect that we can achieve human rights. Mr. Holger explained that the European Union (EU) has always been supportive of human rights issues and will continue to remain so. He also commended the U60 team for the work they put into organizing the series of events.
Finally, Mr. Siew Kum Hong, nominated Member of Parliament and Guest-of-Honour of the event, acknowledged that human rights in Singapore do not have an exemplary track record but we have made a lot of progress since its humble beginnings as a small port town. “This success is real and we cannot deny it,” he said.
He noted that Singaporeans should have no need to shy away from a human rights discourse as Singapore’s very existence is founded on the right to self-determination which is set out in Article 1 of the UDHR and highlighted in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
The U60 committee has lined up a series of activities in celebration of Human Rights throughout December. The next event scheduled is a short films showcase on 4th December at the Substation Theatre from 7-10 pm. The Online Citizen will hold an event at Speakers’ Corner on Saturday, 6 December, themed on “Social Justice and Fairness”. It begins at 5pm.
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“The Online Citizen will hold an event at Speakers’ Corner on Saturday, 6 December, themed on “Social Justice and Fairness”. It begins at 5pm.”
paiseh to be the 1st to comment….nothing much to say except,
well done Choo!
and also
I EXPECT dong! dong! Chang! at the HLP , again. Last weekend the main area of HLP was surrounded by food stalls. Not bad wor, got music so LOUD we can still hear TKL voice come out from the tiny loud hailer wor.
I think EVERY saturday, some event organiser book the main arena liao. I think only. You all go there and see it to believe it. all of a sudden HLP so occupied liao.
This is a concrete step forward for the human rights movement.
Kudos to TOC for getting involved in this worthwhile project.
Also thank the govt for allowing this event to take place.
The Online Citizen will hold an event at Speakers’ Corner on Saturday, 6 December, themed on “Social Justice and Fairness”. It begins at 5pm.
This is great the topic was good.
i will go to speakers corner…….
“Also thank the govt for allowing this event to take place.”
sorry. the banning of this would have been politically disastrous. There is no need to thank the government for allowing something like this to take place because it should have been a given right.
This event is allowed in Singapore – now that is progress.
like this is an effort to ???
Good job all!
I’ll be frank, I have only a very personal and basic understanding of human rights and I am not familiar with the formal declaration of universal human rights that the international community has adopted.
I hope events like these would reach out to help as many Singaporeans as possible understand these ideas and to able to reason about and debate them.
I do not see anything specific that the U60 sg committee has mentioned leh.
What is the contribution of such an event towards human rights?
Yes, it gives the people some kind of awareness of human rights.
But specifically , what has the committee, like co-chair mr Choo of TOC, mentioned about human rights for singapore?
Can we have the transcripts?
What progress has this event made?
Everybody should read this articleby Randall Peerenboom:
Beyond Universalism and Relativism: The Evolving Debates about ‘Values in Asia’
When I was in the army’s military security department I was told that I have no right whatsoever. To prove that this is so they harassed, ill-treated me and the members of my family. To go into details and that will be a book on covert military violence and also covert violence against the family. Then the head said that he will kill me if I dare disclose anything and that all problems should be solved within the SAF. This went on for 21 years and it stopped in 2003.
This is Singapore, the great leader of Asean. It has a fantastic economy and it is clean and green and people from overseas told me what a great country it is. Beyond all this is this culture of violence and I believe it is the vestiges or the ongoing assertion of the gangster culture which was once prevalent in Singapore.
Tell the SAF officers in MSD about the declaration of human rights. That the humblest buck private has certain rights. They have to be told otherwise the NS men will not fight and might even turn their guns on —–. It is timely that we do it now as we have progressed and are now talking openly about the universal declaration of human rights.
I am now living in Indochina where I am both a journalist, subeditor and farmer. Sorry Ii cannot at the forums on human rights.
Ronnie
Never believe there is human rights in singapore and will never until I see it black and white. Till we have a minium wage for our own people and foreigners and legal off days, that will be the first step in the right direction.
All this talk will do nothing. The government will always say singapore is different and will always tell the rest of the world this is our country and we do what we want cos we are the government and not you.
Re:
LJ FED UP’s question
NMP Siew Kum Hong has put up his speech online
http://www.siewkumhong.blogspot.com
Re: 11) yodi
Thankfully, it’s not just talking. UNIFEM is organising a march thru Orchard Rd on 6th Dec 2008
http://www.unifem.org.sg
Re: 10) Ronnie
This sounds serious. Are you able to provide more info? But like what BBC says, “At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks…”
Hi evozero (nice name!),
thanks for the info.
can we assure the people that this activity is approved by singapore authorities?
If so, we should inform the people asap. Else, some , may think “aiya, better don’t go else get into trouble, please, i am a singaporean. such things are not our problem, we not time for these”.
What U60 hopes to do is to bring Singaporeans together to talk about what human rights means to them through our series of events. Whether we decide that the full set of human rights in the UDHR will give us a better life or if we want a more nuanced Asian or pragmatic version… well, that’s really up to all of us to decide.
Do check out our website for the schedule of events and come join us
We’re not doing this to stage some kind of elaborate human rights performance for Singapore or to say that our idea of human rights is the correct interpretation. We’re presenting the facts, and then we want Singaporeans to define human rights for themselves.
11) yodi
On the contrary, I think talking is the first step towards achieving more effective compliance with human rights norms. We must take the initiative to define human rights for ourselves, It can’t just be the govt defining human rights or civil society defining human rights for Singaporeans all the time. And the more people talking online and offline, the better!
In the UDHR 60th Anniversary celebration event, Ms. Constance Singam was reported to have “emphasized the importance of an on-going effort for the fight for human rights in Singapore”.
Mr Choo Zheng Xi urged us to “find a right in the UDHR that relates to you, and share that with the organizations you work with”.
Mr Siew Kum Hong “acknowledged that human rights in Singapore do not have an exemplary track record…”.
The implicit message by these activists is that human rights are good and we should fight for them in Singapore. I’m afraid that is an oversimplification of the issue.
The REAL POINT OF CONTENTION in the human rights debate is whether such rights as rights to life, to freedom of speech, to equality before the law, to work and to education, etc, are natural, universal and inalienable and you are entitled to them as long as you are human; or are they applicable in a State only if specifically provided for by law.
There are wide ramifications and justifications for either position. And Singaporeans should familiarise themselves with these arguments before declaring their allegiance to either camp.
How come PAP never sent riot police and storm this event? This is like interfering with domestic issues rite? Never like give them the death sentance? How can?
15) smallvoice585
I feel that human rights is just one way to give us all a better life. The world decided 60 years ago that observing human rights would be our best chance of achieving some kind of Utopia for us all… and it’s up to us to decide whether it is or it isn’t.
Human rights ARE universal and inalienable, and you’re entitled to these rights by virtue of being human. Singapore can’t deny its relevance cos we subscribe to the UDHR as a UN member. But at the same time, Article 29 talks about exercising our rights with due respect to our “duties to the community”, “the rights and freedoms of others” and “meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.”
So we need to decide where the exercise of our rights should stop and where our duties to the community begin.. or vice versa
Hi,
just one silly question here; is conscription(National Service) an act against Human Rights, I am inclined to feel it does but not sure.
Kindly enlighten me, I will be thankful.
patriot
Dear June,
Apparently, you are a firm believer in human rights being inalienable, universal and natural.
However, such absolute adjectives ascribed to human rights are bound to impair their promotion, simply because there are many other competing priorities that are indispensable to a nation’s survival and welfare.
If my human rights are inalienable, then they are non-negotiable. If they are universal, then everyone has the same non-negotiable rights even when they encroach on each other. Further, if they are natural, there is no need to justify them and no law in any country can negate it. Can you see that this is a sure-fire way to conflict and disorder?
Therefore, in the final analysis, there can only be provisions for human rights under the law – they are not entitlements regardless of our laws!
19) smallvoice585
While I agree that there are many competing priorities that are indispensable to a nation’s survival and welfare, I don’t agree that absolute adjectives ascribed to human rights will impair their promotion. The philosophical idea behind human rights is that all men & women are equal and are entitled to dignity.. and that’s where the idea of natural, universal and inalienable human rights comes from. I don’t think any of us would dispute the philosophical idea behind human rights. We therefore shouldn’t be afraid to say that everyone is entitled to human rights and no one should be denied their human rights by their government or by any other person in absolute terms.
But what I think you’re getting at is the conflict btw the exercise of rights and freedoms of individuals and duties to the community.. which is the next step after recognizing that human rights are universal and inalienable. I.e. “How do we exercise our rights in a way that will take into account everyone else’s exercise of their rights and other priorities?”
I think we shouldn’t shy away from human rights because of the conflict between individuals and community, which can’t be helped cos we all live in communities. I might be naive but I believe that it’s just a matter of Singaporeans deciding how they want to resolve the conflict.
Take for example, religious freedom here. We all can practice the religion of our choice but we have to practice our religion responsibly and take care not to offend the religious sensitivities of other people when we speak. That’s how Singapore has decided to balance btw individuals and the community in issues of religion. Then of course there are questions about what is practicing religion responsibly etc. We have to keep refining and working at the areas of conflict instead of blaming the absolute terms of human rights.
I think that’s what you’re getting at… correct me if I’m wrong.
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