31 Oct 2022
Mr Chair,
1 Singapore aligns itself with the statement made by Pakistan on behalf of the G77 and China.
2 Reducing inequalities and ending discrimination is at the core of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular Sustainable Development Goal 10. However, we seem to be regressing on this front. More than two decades after the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, it is reprehensible that instances of racial discrimination and intolerance are on the uptrend. The COVID-19 pandemic has made things worse in terms of inequality. Societal fault lines have deepened, triggering hate, bigotry, and xenophobia. Extremist and exclusionist ideas have spread through the internet. It has been particularly concerning to see a dramatic increase in hate speech in social media.
Mr Chair,
3 Eliminating racism and xenophobia is an existential issue for Singapore, which is a racially and religiously diverse society, indeed, one of the most religiously diverse on Earth. A period of communal tensions and violent racial riots just before our independence taught us hard lessons on the dangers of inter-communal distrust and division. Today, we have carefully built a highly diverse but harmonious society. Around 15% of marriages between Singaporeans are inter-ethnic, and 29% are transnational. We also have adherents to many different religions including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Taoism.
4 Building a cohesive, multi-cultural and multi-religious society requires equality and non-discrimination. Our Constitution mandates equal protection and non-discrimination. We also have a Presidential Council for Minority Rights to scrutinise all legislation to ensure that they do not discriminate against any race or religious group, and a Presidential Council for Religious Harmony which advises the Government on matters affecting religious harmony. In 2016, we made changes to our Elected President system to ensure that each ethnic group has the opportunity to have one of its own become President.
5 We also do not allow freedom of expression to be exploited denigrate other groups. The Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act ensures that religious leaders or groups do not incite feelings of enmity on the grounds of religion, or abuse religion for political ends. These laws make clear that the right to freedom of expression is not unfettered and comes with responsibilities to society.
6 But discrimination cannot simply be eliminated by law. To truly stamp out racial and religious discrimination core, mutual trust and respect must be forged. In Singapore, we have expanded common spaces to promote interactions across communities. We ensure a diverse mix of racial groups in our public housing estates, where 80% of Singaporeans live, to prevent ethnic enclaves. Our mandated national holidays include key ethnic and religious festivals , such as Chinese New Year, Vesak Day, Hari Raya, Deepavali, and Christmas. We also have multi-racial and multi-religious Harmony Circles that organise inter-faith and inter-racial events to strengthen community bonding and contributes to deeper understanding and tolerance.
Mr Chair,
7 Amidst rising social tensions, it is no easy feat to build cohesive societies. There is no single recipe for this because every society is fundamentally different. But there is much that we can learn from each other. Singapore engages various stakeholders in improving our approach, having ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. We made our first State Party Report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination at the end of last year. Singapore stands ready to work with the international community to eliminate all forms of racism, racial discrimination, and related intolerance.
8 Thank you.
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