that religious law remained dynamic <strong>and</strong> responsive to the interest <strong>of</strong> women. As a result,the minimum age for Muslim marriage had been raised to 18, religious edicts on fairerproperty division had been issued <strong>and</strong> the blanket reservation against articles 2 <strong>and</strong> 16 <strong>of</strong>the Convention had been withdrawn. She added, however, that it was necessary to maintainthe reservation against specific elements <strong>of</strong> those articles because <strong>of</strong> the need <strong>of</strong> the Muslimminority to practice their family <strong>and</strong> personal laws, though she pledged that the issue wouldbe kept under review.Outlining measures to combat sexual exploitation <strong>and</strong> abuse <strong>of</strong> domestic workers,she also described extensive efforts to stem trafficking in women, including an enhancedlegal code, victim’s services <strong>and</strong> the creation <strong>of</strong> a multi-agency task force.Following her presentation, experts welcomed progress in the socio-economicsituation <strong>of</strong> women <strong>and</strong> the partial repeal <strong>of</strong> reservations, but they called on the country todrop remaining reservations to the Convention, to ratify other human rights conventions, totake proactive measures to increase women’s participation in various spheres, to combatstereotyped roles <strong>and</strong> to bolster efforts to combat trafficking in persons, among other efforts.Explaining the remaining reservations to articles 2 <strong>and</strong> 16, a delegate from theIslamic Religious Council <strong>of</strong> Singapore said they were meant to accommodate such Muslimfamily factors as the guardian’s permission for marriage, <strong>and</strong> various issues in divorce <strong>and</strong>polygamy. He stressed that there were mechanisms <strong>of</strong> recourse in all those areas <strong>and</strong> thatsharia required that men prove they were qualified for additional marriages, with a result thatthe practice had declined to only 0.08 per cent <strong>of</strong> unions. One expert suggested that thepractice be allowed to st<strong>and</strong>, to satisfy religious requirements, but that it be agreed that nomen were qualified for it.Some experts stressed that, even though women were making progress inparticipation in many sectors, so-called temporary special measures <strong>of</strong> affirmative actionwere needed to reach equal participation in more areas. Others voiced concern over thereinforcement <strong>of</strong> gender stereotypes, through widespread plastic surgery for women <strong>and</strong>reiteration <strong>of</strong> the idea <strong>of</strong> men as heads <strong>of</strong> households.In response to many questions on Singapore’s efforts to combat trafficking in persons<strong>and</strong> when it might accede to the so-called Palermo Protocol concerning human trafficking <strong>of</strong>the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, Ms. Yacob agreedwith the gravity <strong>of</strong> the situation <strong>and</strong> the need to continually step up vigilance <strong>and</strong> strengthenlegal measures. While the country was not a party to that Protocol, the language <strong>of</strong> theinstrument had been adopted in addressing that issue. She outlined initiatives in protection<strong>of</strong> victims <strong>and</strong> investigation <strong>of</strong> perpetrators, <strong>and</strong> said that a forthcoming national plan <strong>of</strong>action would augment those efforts with awareness-raising programmes.In urging the ratification <strong>of</strong> additional treaties, experts stressed the importance <strong>of</strong> theInternational Covenant on Civil <strong>and</strong> Political Rights <strong>and</strong> the International Covenant onEconomic, <strong>Social</strong> <strong>and</strong> Cultural Rights <strong>and</strong> seven other such treaties, as well as the OptionalProtocol <strong>of</strong> the women’s Convention, itself. They also discussed the need forcomprehensive anti-discrimination language in national law <strong>and</strong> recalled that Committee hadrecommended the creation <strong>of</strong> a national human rights instrument in line with the ParisPrinciples.The delegation replied that while Singapore lacked specific legislation prohibitingdiscrimination based on gender, article XII <strong>of</strong> its Constitution guaranteed the equal protection<strong>of</strong> all people under the law <strong>and</strong>, therefore, prevented discrimination based on gender, maritalstatus, age, disability or other such grounds. On the issue <strong>of</strong> other human rights treaties,Ms. Yacob said her Government considered them very seriously, but stressed that the
principles involved were applied except for the provisions with which the country disagreed.“We don’t want ratification for the sake <strong>of</strong> ratification,” she added.The Committee on the Elimination <strong>of</strong> Discrimination against Women will meet againat a time <strong>and</strong> place to be announced.
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