A/HRC/17/40/Add.2 may be confined to citizens, human rights are, in principle, to be enjoyed by all persons. Differential treatment based on citizenship or immigration status therefore constitutes discrimination if the criteria for such differentiation are not applied pursuant to a legitimate aim, and are not proportional to the achievement of this aim. 17. Consequently the Special Rapporteur would like to recommend that the aforementioned constitutional provisions relating to equal protection, freedom of speech, assembly and association, as well as rights in respect of education be equally guaranteed to non-citizens. It is indeed of crucial importance in a country like Singapore, where noncitizens represent a sizeable part of the population, that all individuals enjoy the same human rights without discrimination. C. Stand-alone law dedicated to the prohibition of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance 18. As mentioned above, the Constitution contains provisions referring to the human rights principles of equality and non-discrimination. In addition, Singapore has a number of domestic legislative provisions relating to racism and racial discrimination and there exist enhanced penalties for racially aggravated offences (see section 74 of Singapore’s penal code). However, the Special Rapporteur was informed that there exists no stand-alone law dedicated to the prohibition of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in Singapore. When asked whether it would consider drafting such a law, the Government answered that existing provisions were sufficient to prevent and combat racism and discrimination and that a non-discrimination statute of a general nature might not be the best option for Singapore. 19. In this context, the Special Rapporteur would like to refer to paragraph 68 of the Durban Programme of Action, which urges States “to adopt and implement, or strengthen, national legislation and administrative measures that expressly and specifically counter racism and prohibit racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, whether direct or indirect, in all spheres of public life, in accordance with their obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination”. The Government should therefore consider enacting a stand-alone legislation prohibiting racial discrimination in all areas of life, including employment, education and health. The benefits of a stand-alone legislative act include specific reporting, reviewing and enforcement mechanisms, as well as specific funding, which usually allows for more effective policies against racism. The enactment of a stand-alone legislative act also clearly demonstrates the State’s political commitment in the fight against racism. Moreover, it allows enhanced visibility and accessibility of the law for all individuals, thereby enabling them to resort to the law more easily and more effectively. D. Institutional human rights framework 20. Part VII of the Constitution establishes the Presidential Council for Minority Rights (PCMR). As stated in article 76, paragraph 1, of the Constitution, the general function of PCMR is to “consider and report on such matters affecting persons of any racial or religious community in Singapore as may be referred to the Council by the Parliament or the Government”. According to article 77, the particular function of PCMR is to “draw attention to any bill or to any subsidiary legislation if that bill or subsidiary legislation is, in the opinion of the Council, a differentiating measure”. Article 68 defines a “differentiating measure” as “any measure which is, or is likely in its practical application to be, disadvantageous to persons of any racial or religious community and not equally disadvantageous to persons of other such communities, either directly by prejudicing 7