HRF submits petition to the UN for Singaporean activist Jolovan Wham

NEW YORK (Aug. 13, 2024) — Last month, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) submitted an individual complaint to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) on the case of Singaporean human rights activist Jolovan Wham. This was the first UNWGAD petition HRF has submitted for Singapore.

Wham, one of the country’s few activists, is known domestically and internationally for his work on LGBTQ+ and migrant rights, the death penalty, and freedom of expression. In its complaint, HRF requested that the UNWGAD declare Wham’s various detentions arbitrary under international law and urged Singapore to end his ongoing judicial harassment for exercising his right to freedom of expression.

The complaint to UNWGAD details the judicial harassment Wham has endured, particularly his four detentions between 2016 and 2022. Two stemmed from organizing “protests” with less than 50 people; one protest involved a panel discussion on democracy. The other two detentions resulted from social media posts expressing support for other activists; one post simply showed Wham holding a sign in front of the State Court for 10 seconds.

“In Singapore, to say or do anything that the government does not approve of is to risk being detained. This is why there are so few human rights activists in Singapore and why my colleagues and I must keep doing what we do.” Wham said to HRF. “They fined me thousands of dollars for simply protesting or posting on social media. There is no freedom of expression or freedom of association in Singapore, which is why it is not a democracy.”

In the complaint, HRF describes Singapore’s highly restrictive legal framework for freedom of expression, including the requirements that individuals and groups must apply for a permit to protest and that protests can only take place in one location, the “Speakers Corner.” Furthermore, HRF notes that Wham’s detentions directly resulted from the legitimate exercise of his right to freedom of expression and his work as a human rights activist.

Supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. 

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