UPR Sexual Rights Database

Noted. We are unable to commit to ratifying any further treaties at this point. While Singapore may not be party to a particular human rights treaty yet, our outcomes are already fully or largely in compliance with its objectives.

We have social safety nets to provide help where family and community support is inadequate.

Singapore’s approach to gender equality is founded on the principle of meritocracy where women in Singapore participate fully and equally in all spheres of life and at all levels. In 2017, Singapore’s first female President, Halimah Yacob, was elected into office.

Noted. Although Section 377A of the Penal Code remains in our statute books, it is not enforced. All Singapore citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation, are free to pursue their activities in their private space. We firmly oppose discrimination and harassment and have laws to protect all our citizens from such conduct. We will continue to manage the issue of LGBT rights in a sensitive and pragmatic way, so as to protect the vulnerable, uphold the family and preserve the common space for the diverse communities in Singapore.

Noted. About a quarter of the recommendations that we noted relate to the ratification of international human rights treaties. Singapore takes our treaty obligations seriously and engages actively with the relevant treaty bodies. We also have a process under our Inter-Ministerial Committee on Human Rights to actively review Singapore's ability to ratify additional human rights treaties. Since we cannot prejudge the outcome of the review process, we are unable to commit ourselves to ratifying any of these specific treaties at this time, apart from the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (OP-CRC-SC), for which a review has already been completed. While Singapore may not be party to a particular human rights treaty yet, it does not mean that our outcomes are not already fully or largely in compliance with its objectives.

Noted. Singapore strongly supports the principle of non-discrimination in the workplace. Our preferred approach is to encourage employers to adopt fair employment practices through the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP), which sets guidelines for employers to treat their employees fairly and with respect, and refrain from discriminatory practices, rather than a legislative approach which may add market rigidities without addressing discriminatory practices. Errant employers are sanctioned.