Singapore supports 243 human rights recommendations, including stronger migrant worker protections

He said the country’s approach rested on two pillars – pragmatism and the rule of law – and that countries would take different paths to advancing human rights based on their circumstances.

“What matters is whether these approaches deliver meaningful progress for their people,” he said.

DOMESTIC WORKERS

Among the more specific recommendations supported by Singapore was one from the United Kingdom to mandate rest periods and create digital recruitment and wage-payment processes for foreign domestic workers. 

Singapore also supported recommendations to strengthen migrant workers’ protections in areas such as working conditions, healthcare, social protection, access to justice and safeguards against exploitation. These included improving migrant domestic workers’ legal protections, access to healthcare and mental health support.

However, it did not support some recommendations seeking specific changes to legal protections.

These included recommendations from Canada and Norway to extend protections under the Employment Act and Work Injury Compensation Act to domestic workers, and a recommendation to establish a government-run recruitment system to prevent deceptive hiring and contract substitution. 

Singapore also did not support a recommendation to give foreign domestic workers public holidays, regulated working hours and paid leave, and to end mandatory pregnancy and HIV testing.

In its response, Singapore said migrant domestic workers required “additional protection” and that their particular working environments were addressed through customised legislation under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act. 

MENTAL HEALTH, WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Singapore supported several recommendations on mental health, including calls to strengthen school-based support services for young people, increase awareness and develop community services.

It also backed a recommendation to protect children and older people from cyber harms while maintaining non-digital access to essential services.

Singapore also supported a broad range of recommendations on advancing women’s empowerment, including increasing women’s representation in public and political life, narrowing gender inequalities at work and strengthening support for women in leadership roles.

Other supported recommendations focused on balancing work and caregiving with stronger workplace protections relating to maternity, caregiving responsibilities and flexible work arrangements to raise women’s workforce participation.

In its national report for the review, Singapore pointed to measures such as the Workplace Fairness Act and expanded parental leave. Government-paid paternity leave doubled from two to four weeks last year, while shared parental leave rose to 10 weeks from April.