It has been said that human rights is a historical project that gains momentum with the passage of time. Even the fiercest of human rights critics has to acknowledge the growing interest in the subject matter Southeast Asia. Singapore is no different.

This was the outcome of the second meeting of the human rights study group on June 9 were 20 individuals discussed the various strategies of setting up a human rights action group with ideas including an education programme and awareness magazine.

One of the positive developments after the Asian financial crisis has been a groundswell of engaging action-oriented human rights programmes in the region. This has been a different approach from the normally reactionary cultural relativists who deconstruct human rights as a Western hegemonic project but offer no viable alternative or solutions.

The argument of "good government" or "good men" is no longer an acceptable logic in the securing of human rights in this region.

Singapore, which has been a vocal critic of human rights and has made very strong intellectual arguments against it, now finds itself in the wilderness. Excepting for Burma, Brunei, Vietnam and of course Singapore all other Asean countries have national human rights commissions.

It is therefore imperative that Singapore prepares itself for a process of instituting various groups to organise a mechanism for citizens if they find that anyone or any authority has infringed their rights.

The meeting, second in a series facilitated by the Think Centre, sought to find ways to set up a human rights commission in Singapore. Following a planned agenda, the three-hour meeting discussed some pertinent points to human rights and the sort of "human rights" participants wanted to see developed in this country. It also called for collective action among civil society groups, the government, political parties and other sectors of society.

A strategy of creating human rights awareness was a paramount objective of the meeting, which also discussed using the Asean Human Rights Mechanism as a useful platform, setting up a website and networking. Other topics debated included the need to engage the government and the extent of collaboration with external NGOs.

Even though there was an all round eagerness to expedite the set up of a civil society human rights committee, the group also acknowledged that most lacked professional education in human rights matters. It was therefore agreed that a group undergoes proper training before embarking on issues and receiving complaints.

The Think Center together with other NGOs was willing to facilitate human rights workshops open even to government officials. This was seen as the foundation of bringing about the necessary skills needed to set up human rights in the country.

Another initiative discussed as part of human rights education was to start a magazine. This proposal was well received and the group planned immediately to discuss its merits. All agreed that it would be an excellent way of publicising the initiative and also serve as an avenue to reach other like-minded individuals or groups. It was not decided whether the magazine would be a one-off venture or a quarterly publication.

The variety of arguments added colour to the meeting and even though there was disagreement on certain points, the meeting went smoothly and retained a good spirit. Civil society is without a doubt doing its part to sell the idea of human rights. Buy it before the sale ends.

ANBARASU BALSARAN is a post-graduate student researching human rights at the National University of Singapore.