Non-governmental organisation Human Rights Watch has issued a response to criticisms of its report and no-show at the Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods.

HRW said:

• It could not make arrangements to send a staff to serve as a representative because the request to show up on a particular date was too last-minute.

• It had submitted queries to Singapore ministers before releasing its report but was met with silence.

• Its recommendations were offered in good faith to promote and protect free expression and peaceful assembly in Singapore.

Full statement by Human Rights Watch

On October 30, 2017, Human Rights Watch sent a letter to four senior members of Singapore’s government requesting their input and response to the findings of our research for our 133-page report, “‘Kill the Chicken to Scare the Monkeys’: Suppression of Free Expression and Assembly in Singapore.”

The report analyses the laws and regulations used by the Singapore government to suppress the rights to free speech and peaceful assembly, including the Public Order Act, the Sedition Act, the Broadcasting Act, various penal code provisions, and laws on criminal contempt.

The letter, a copy of which is included in an appendix of the report, was sent to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam, Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim, and Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan. Human Rights Watch received no response by the time of publication of the report on December 13, 2017. We still have not received a response.

As the government has not disputed our factual findings and has not replied to our recommendations, which were offered in good faith to promote and protect free expression and peaceful assembly in Singapore, it is both ironic and absurd that the Ministry of Law and members of the ruling People’s Action Party are now accusing Human Rights Watch of being unwilling to defend our report.

The Singapore parliament invited Human Rights Watch to give evidence about “Deliberate Online Falsehoods.” Human Rights Watch has no staff based in Singapore. We offered to send the relevant staff member on a particular date, but the committee did not confirm a date that could work for our staff until after we had made other commitments.

As we said in our response to parliament, we look forward to reading any submissions and will respond if we think it is necessary and appropriate. To date, no submission has raised any serious question about our factual findings. We have also offered to meet with government officials in Singapore or elsewhere, or relevant parliamentarians, at a mutually convenient date to discuss the report.

It is now clear that the purpose of the hearing was not to discuss our findings and recommendations in good faith, or to get our input into dealing with “deliberate online falsehoods” in a manner consistent with international standards, but to engage in ridiculous and irrelevant arguments aimed to discredit our report and Human Rights Watch. The people of Singapore are not served by a government and ruling party that appears to be more interested in public grandstanding than having a substantive discussion about threats to the internationally protected rights to freedom of expression and assembly.

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Background

• Foreign non-governmental organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) did not take up the offer of giving oral evidence to the Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods, despite being repeatedly accused of suppressing the truth and invited to show up and defend itself.

• Focus turned to HRW on March 23, after the committee heard serious criticisms made against it by PAP Policy Forum (PPF) during the public hearing.

• HRW’s report, “Kill the Chicken to Scare the Monkeys” – Suppression of Free Expression and Assembly in Singapore, criticised for perpetuating falsehoods without basis and under the guise of objectivity.

• HRW as an organisation accused of being non-transparent, especially when its interview and funding sources are srcutinised.

• Singapore’s Ministry of Law issued a statement saying it is disappointed but not surprised HRW did not send a representative to give testimony at the select committee.

Practical knowledge for young adults:

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