Policies

Widely regarded as the international bill of rights for women, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is a United Nations human rights treaty for women. It consists of:

• a preamble (or introduction)
• 30 Articles defining what represents discrimination and how equality can be achieved

 Singapore acceded to the Convention on 5 October 1995.

The Inter-Ministry Committee (IMC) on CEDAW oversees the implementation of the Convention in Singapore. Set up in July 1996, it comprises 16 ministries and public sector agencies which coordinate and implement initiatives under their purview to better address the needs of women.

The Office for Women’s Development in MCYS is Secretariat to the Committee. Its responsibilities include:

• preparing Periodic Reports to the UN CEDAW Committee which outline how Singapore has complied with CEDAW in collaboration with the IMC on CEDAW
• driving and recommending government policies relating to women through the IMC

To date, Singapore has submitted and presented 4 Periodic Reports to the UN CEDAW Committee.

Fourth Periodic Report

Drafting the Report

During the drafting stage of the report, consultation sessions were organised jointly with the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations (SCWO) to get input from the various women’s groups. MCYS also held consultation sessions with the Ministry’s Government Parliamentary Committee members and female Members of Parliament (MPs).

Following the revision of the draft report, more consultation sessions were held to get further feedback from:

• women’s groups on 14 May 2011
• women MPs on 27 June 2011

Oral Presentation to UN CEDAW Committee 

Singapore presented our most recent Fourth Periodic Report at the 49th Session of the UN CEDAW Committee on 22 July 2011.

Mdm Halimah Yacob, Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports, led the Singapore delegation and delivered the Opening Statement.

The delegation comprised officials from:

•  Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports
•  Ministry of Manpower
• Ministry of Home Affairs
• Ministry of Health
• Attorney-General's Chambers
• Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (or Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura)
• Singapore’s Permanent Mission to the UN in New York

Prior to the session, Singapore had responded to the Committee’s issues and questions in writing to facilitate the dialogue.

Singapore’s delegation to the 49th CEDAW Session led by Minister of State Mdm Halimah Yacob

Opening Statement

 Mdm Halimah gave an overview of the progress made and how Singapore has complied with the Convention, such as:

• amending the Women’s Charter to lessen the impact of divorces on women and strengthen the enforcement of maintenance procedures
• amending the Income Tax Act to allow women to claim Spouse Relief
• amending the Penal Code to protect young women and girls against exploitation for commercial sex
• amending the Children’s and Young Persons Act to step up the care of girls and boys placed in Homes as well as the management of child protection cases
• enhancing maternity benefits and protection through the Marriage and Parenthood Package
• improving measures to address the situation of specific groups of women, such as women migrant workers.

Minister of State Mdm Halimah Yacob delivering the Opening Statement at 49th CEDAW Session, 22 July 2011

Concluding Observations

Singapore was commended for our high-level delegation and progress achieved since the Third Periodic Report. 

The Committee noted with appreciation initiatives such as the National Family Violence Networking System, the Inter-Agency Taskforce on Trafficking in Persons, and the enhanced Marriage and Parenthood Package (2008). It also noted Singapore’s ratification of the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2007) and welcomed the partial withdrawal of our reservations against Articles 2 and 16 of CEDAW and urged Singapore to withdraw the remaining reservations.

Singapore was further urged to step up on legislation to specifically criminalize marital rape, trafficking in persons and sexual harassment; prohibit discrimination against women on all grounds; completely ban polygamy; and extend legal protection and redress to couples in de facto unions.

The Committee also pushed for Singapore to:

• provide equal choice of adjudication between the Syariah and Family Courts
• elevate the status of the national women’s machinery, strengthen its mandate and provide necessary human and financial resources
• take measures to change or eliminate patriarchal attitudes and stereotypes that discriminate against women, including those based on sexual orientation and gender identity and on men as “the head of the household”
• impose stricter safety regulations and extend the existing guidelines for medical practitioners to non-medical practitioners in aesthetic clinics, beauty clinics and spas, etc
• adopt laws, policies and temporary special measures to promote women’s full and equal participation in decision-making in all areas of public, political and professional life
• ensure that the women elected to public office are provided with support and resources, and training and mentoring programmes are developed for women candidates and women elected to public office
• review the legal protection afforded to foreign domestic workers and repeal the law requiring work permit holders, including foreign domestic workers, to be deported on grounds of pregnancy or a diagnosis of sexually transmitted diseases
• to establish an independent national human rights institution
• to ratify treaties that Singapore is not yet a party to

The Inter-Ministry Committee on CEDAW and the Office for Women’s Development will look into these possible areas of further progress.

Minister of State Mdm Halimah Yacob with the Chairperson of the UN CEDAW Committee, Ms Silvia Pimentel from Brazil

For more information:

• Singapore’s Fourth Periodic CEDAW Report (PDF)
• UN CEDAW Committee’s Issues and Questions to Singapore for the 49th Session (PDF)
• Singapore’s responses to the UN CEDAW Committee’s Issues and Questions for the 49th Session (PDF)
• Introductory Statement by Mdm Halimah Yacob, Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports, at the 49th CEDAW Session , 22 July 2011 (PDF)
• Concluding Observations from the UN CEDAW Committee, 49th Session (PDF)
• Summary Records of the 49th CEDAW Session
• UN’s Press Release on Singapore’s Oral Presentation of its Fourth Periodic Report, 22 July 2011 (49th CEDAW Session)

Past Periodic Reports
 

January 2000	Initial Report (PDF) Lists the measures adopted by Singapore in Parliament, Court and other administrative areas to comply with CEDAW.
April 2001	Second Periodic Report (PDF) Provides updates on women’s participation in key sectors as well as new developments and initiatives that promote human rights for women in Singapore.
November 2004	Third Periodic Report (PDF) Provides updates on Singapore’s progress in respect to CEDAW and significant advances made in women’s issues and rights from 2000 – 2004.