Several newspapers have reported on the 2nd report to be submitted to the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Rights of the Child. Regular submissions are one of the obligations of countries who are a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Singapore ratified the CRC in 1995, together with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
The Straits Times report (“S’pore kids better off now than in 2002: MCYS report”) mentions
Improvements seen in schooling, health and crime rates; but STD, abuse cases up
The TODAY report (“Kids’ rights: Plan of action”) highlighted discussions at a closed-door forum, specifically
Educating youth workers on children’s rights and developing a national plan of action for children
The newspaper report also spelled out some of the government’s reservations to the CRC, namely on free primary education, corporal punishment, and special protection of refugee children.
The Zaobao report (“少儿权利草拟报告书：本地青少年自杀率上升”, translated as “Draft report for CRC: Rise in adolescent suicide rate in Singapore”) focused on the issue of teenage suicides, with the rate climbing from 2.7 per 10,000 youths in 2004, to the current rate of 4.6. The newspaper report also informed of a MCYS public consultation which will close by the end of this month.
The official press release provided (among other items) a list stating the key areas of progress in the area of child rights, like changes to legislation, providing more choices in education, and help for dysfunctional families, etc.
Do access the draft report and provide your feedback and comments.
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