Singapore backs stronger protections for vulnerable groups while rejecting several proposed legal changes.
Singapore has accepted a larger share of recommendations in its latest United Nations human rights review, including measures covering migrant workers, women, children, and people with disabilities, while maintaining its existing positions on several contested areas.
Singapore Supports 243 Recommendations
Singapore supported 243 of the 342 recommendations, or about 71%, made by UN member states during its fourth Universal Periodic Review. The recommendations were adopted on September 28 and covered areas including women’s empowerment and protections for people with disabilities, migrant workers, and lower-income groups. The acceptance rate increased from 65% in 2021 and 53% in 2016.
Migrant Worker Protections Receive Support
Among the recommendations Singapore supported were measures to strengthen migrant workers’ working conditions, healthcare, social protection, access to justice, and safeguards against exploitation. Singapore also backed a UK recommendation concerning rest periods and digital recruitment and wage-payment processes for foreign domestic workers, as well as proposals to improve their healthcare and mental health support.
Some Domestic Worker Changes Rejected
Singapore did not support proposals from Canada and Norway to extend the Employment Act and Work Injury Compensation Act to domestic workers. It also did not accept recommendations for a government-run recruitment system, regulated working hours, public holidays and paid leave for foreign domestic workers, or ending mandatory pregnancy and HIV testing. The government said domestic workers’ particular working environments are addressed through customized protections under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.
Mental Health and Women Also Included
Singapore supported recommendations to strengthen school-based mental health services, increase public awareness, and develop community support for young people. It also backed proposals concerning women’s participation in public and political life, workplace gender inequalities, leadership opportunities, maternity protections, caregiving responsibilities, and flexible work arrangements.
Death Penalty and Free Speech Recommendations Not Supported
Of the 99 recommendations Singapore did not support, 22 concerned the death penalty and 12 involved freedom of speech, expression, and assembly. Singapore’s government said these constitutional rights are protected but are not absolute, while maintaining that capital punishment remains a sovereign criminal justice decision. Ambassador Jaya Ratnam, Singapore’s permanent representative to the UN Office in Geneva, said the country approaches human rights through pragmatism and the rule of law and joins international treaties only when it is confident it can fully implement their obligations.
For Singaporeans, the latest UN review shows broader government support for recommendations concerning vulnerable groups, migrant workers, mental health, and women, alongside continued disagreement over several legal and civil liberties issues. For Indonesians working in or closely connected to Singapore, the recommendations concerning migrant and domestic workers are particularly relevant to how workplace protections may continue developing.
Sources: Straits Times (2026) , CNA (2026)
Keywords: Singapore Human Rights Review, UN Recommendations Singapore, Migrant Worker Protections, Universal Periodic Review, Singapore Domestic Workers, Human Rights Singapore
