Delegation’s ResponsesA delegate explained that the Government had carefully considered the withdrawal <strong>of</strong>reservations, but found that the reservation concerning article 11 was necessary. It was notthe only country to have reached that conclusion, she said. Nonetheless, the interministerialcommittee would keep the matter under active review. “We are not saying we areclosing the door,” she said.A delegate from the <strong>Ministry</strong> <strong>of</strong> Manpower said that the 50 continuing education <strong>and</strong>training centres, the “pride <strong>of</strong> Singapore”, was in fact available to all people regardless <strong>of</strong>gender or other factors. More than 270,000 workers were training in 2010 alone, he said,half <strong>of</strong> them women. Specific training programmes also existed for foreign domesticworkers. Employers who did not provide their foreign domestic workers with sufficient restwere liable to be punished, he added. The Government was considering a legal weeklyrequirement for rest; however, the issue was a complex one <strong>and</strong> required wide consultation.Regarding sexual harassment in the workplace, Singapore had in place a tripartiteapproach. When the harassment was <strong>of</strong> a criminal nature, <strong>of</strong>fenders could be prosecuted<strong>and</strong> faced high fines, caning or prison time. Rates <strong>of</strong> sexual harassment in the workplacehad been found by a recent survey to be on par with those <strong>of</strong> the European Union, headded.Another delegate said that medical insurance for migrant workers had been raisedfrom $5,000 to $15,000 annually. The exclusion <strong>of</strong> children with severe disabilities fromcompulsory schooling was for their own benefit, as many could not function in normalschools. Exclusion, therefore, protected their parents from being prosecuted for not sendingthem to school.Most <strong>of</strong> Singapore’s laws were gender neutral <strong>and</strong> did not consider the sexualorientation <strong>of</strong> a person in their application, he said. Therefore, all rights, services <strong>and</strong>mechanisms available were accessible by both hetero- <strong>and</strong> homosexual people alike.Another delegate said that pre- <strong>and</strong> post-HIV test counselling was available, <strong>and</strong>described an individual health savings account that she said was available to almost allSingaporeans, as well as complementary funds <strong>and</strong> services. Pregnant women alsoenjoyed the same benefits, she said. Lastly, as there was no rural population in Singapore,no comparative statistics were available. She referred the Committee to a website for otherhealth-related data.Yet another member <strong>of</strong> the delegation said that two measures provided protection forpregnant employees: the employees act, <strong>and</strong> the child core savings <strong>and</strong> development act,which was designed to encourage women to have children. The name <strong>of</strong> the Women’sCharter had been debated, she said, <strong>and</strong> might be changed in the future if some structuraladjustments were first made. Singapore was making progress through its incentives tocompanies for instituting flexible work patterns. Additionally, Singapore Airlines was makingchanges to its policy on pregnant women. Overall, complaints on pregnancy-relateddiscrimination had decreased in recent years, she said.On reservations to article 16, some progress had been made, but it was important forSingapore to move at a pace acceptable to its community at large, she said. The focus inthe future would be on how to improve the status <strong>of</strong> women under Muslim law. The countrywould constantly revisit <strong>and</strong> review the issue. Finally, she said that marital rape had beenaddressed as far as it could be at this time, but it would be revisited in the future.
* *** *For information media • not an <strong>of</strong>ficial recordSource: http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/wom<strong>1875</strong>.doc.htm