From Third World to First - What's Next? Singapore's Obligations to the Rest of the World from a Human Rights Perspective

Abstract

In the last half a century, Singapore has gone through truly astonishing transformations. It has now arguably come of age as a First World country, as captured by the title of a recent book by the Founding Father of modern Singapore, Mr Lee Kuan Yew. But First World countries are normally taken to have substantial obligations towards the less advanced parts of the world. In this respect, what are Singapore’s obligations? We will also revisit Singapore’s relationship with the human rights movement. [This is the text of speech the author gave in his capacity as NUSS Visiting Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. The speech was given on October 7, 2013 in the Kent Ridge Guild House of the National University of Singapore Society.