Author: Minivan News

Three producers at state channel TV Maldives have been relieved of their duties following an internal investigation into leaked documents.

The three will nominally keep their jobs and pay, but have been told to do no more than sign in every morning at 8.30am.

Ibrahim Muaz Ali, Ahmed Zahiru and Ilham Ahmed have had internet and phone cables disconnected from their desks and have been told they are no longer able to write, present or narrate programmes.

But they are still being paid, at a basic rate of Rf.2 170 (US$ 170) per month. That means tax payers’ money is being wasted while none of the three are producing any programmes. Under guidelines set by the President’s Office, the producers say they should be working on at least one programme a week.

Mohamed Asif, a senior staff member at the channel, told the three to not bother coming to work at all. On December 18, they received a letter formally telling them they had been relieved of their duties.

The three TVM workers had been at the centre of an investigation within the channel after a series of embarrassing leaks, including a website being set up featuring documents, emails and gossip about the channel. “There have been indications [of their involvement in the website] in our investigation.” Ali Khalid, Chief Executive Officer of the channel, told Minivan News.

But the producers insist they have no links to the website. “I don’t have any involvement in that,” said Ilham Ahmed, who added he was “very angry” about the way he has been treated.

At current, it is not clear what the final decision will be over the three producers. Khalid says he does not know what will happen to them, but insists he does not categorise them as “rebels”, saying: “One guy has taken leave…another guy has just not been up to the mark.”

But the producers remain defiant and say the treatment they have received is unfair. Administrators at the rebel website say their case may now be reported to the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives and the President’s Office.

But back at TVM the channel insists it has to impose discipline. “When you run an organisation there will be internal documents that should not be publicised,” Ali Khalid told Minivan News earlier this month. Today he said, “As an employee of TVM, they should have some discipline of leaving some sensitive information within.”

But discipline has been sorely lacking at the channel recently.

Earlier this month, Thoyyib Mohamed Waheed resigned his post as Assistant Director General and Head of Human Resources, saying there was “a conflict of interest” between the channel and the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party. He is now Shadow Minister for Sports, Arts and Culture.

Last month, a TVM journalist, Adam Mighdaadh, exposed why he had resigned from the channel in 2004. In a letter he had written to the Information Minister, Mohamed Nasheed, he said: “While I was an employee at TVM, I always worked to expose the truth, but my efforts were always set back due to the influence of the heads of the newsroom.”

The administrators of the rebel website about TVM told Minivan the investigation was run by nine senior staff, including Chief Executive Officer at the channel, Ali Khalid. According to the administrators, the committee also included Hassan Maanu, Aishath Hanaa, Ibrahim Rasheed (Thalvaaru), Abdu Raafiu, Raashidhu (Information Director), Nazeeru, Thoyyib Mohamed Waheed (Who recently resigned to become MDP Shadow Cabinet Member) and Mohamed Asif (Mondhu).

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Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Ahmed Shaheed has said that the Government of the Maldives would welcome human rights assistance.

In a meeting held on Thursday with the United Nations Resident Coordinator Mr. Patrice Coeur-Bizot, Shaheed discussed ways in which the UN could assist the Maldives in implementing fundamental, international human rights instruments.

The meeting was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Two key human rights policies that the men discussed were the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Speaking of the issues discussed, Shaheed said: “The centerpiece of President’s democratic reform agenda is protecting human rights and the government is committed to bring human rights standards in the Maldives to the internationally accepted levels. To achieve that, the Government welcomes assistance from the United Nations and the Commonwealth.”

Coeur-Bizot responded by saying that the United Nations was “encouraged” by the measures taken by the Maldivian Government and then went on to elaborate on possible ways in which the organisation could assist the Maldives in implementing international human rights policies.

But unlike Mr. Coeur-Bizot, not everyone was convinced of the government’s good intentions.

Following an accumulation of events across the country over several months, which have completely disregarded human rights, many citizens have begun to believe that the Government’s rhetoric is filled with nothing but empty promises delivered only to please the international community.

This opinion was further validated by recent statistics given by the new Human Rights Commission (HRC) during their first press conference also held on Thursday.

According to the HRC 40 cases of human rights abuse have been filed since its creation only a month ago. Of those, 13 cases were filed since November 27.

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According to a new survey, twenty five thousand Maldivians have immigrated to Male’ from the outer atolls over the last five years.

The study, which was based on the 2000 and 2005 censuses, revealed that people who chose to move to Male’ did so for a variety of reasons.

The main reason was that the capital offered many more services that were simply not available in the atolls. These include everything from health and education facilities to trade and occupation outlets and even entertainment.

Despite the fact that services are improving throughout the atolls, the recent study shows that the number of people flocking to Male’ has not decreased as a result. Analysts have also predicted that the trend will continue in the future.

According to the latest census, more than 100 thousand people are currently living in Male’- a 25,000 person increase since 2000. The new data makes Male’ the most densely populated capital in the world when compared to available land.

As a result, in addition to Male’, Maldivians have also begun moving to Vili-Male’ and Hulhu-Male’, which are both a short boat ride away from the capital.

The influx has sparked significant development.

Hulhu-Male’ will reportedly house 50,000 people by the completion of its first stage of development, which is estimated to finish in 2020.

Planners have also estimated that over the next 15 years, about 15 per cent of the country’s inhabitants will migrate to Hulhu-Male, and by the time development is finished, approximately in 2044, over half of the current population of the country will be able to live there.

According to Miadhu News, a large number of people have already begun spending “hard earned” money to buy flats in houses in Hulhu-Male’ because of the island’s ideal location.

One such person, who was interviewed by the publication, was Mohamed Ali. Ali, who is originally from an island in the north, said he was one of many Maldivians who were eager to obtain land near the capital.

He was quoted as saying: “I gain a lot of money from my carpentry work. I saved a lot of it to buy a small house or a flat in Hulhu-Male’. I am really grateful for it.”

Ali went on to say that two other people from his island received land in Hulhu-Male’ and that many more were looking to move there.

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It did not take long after the mention of the word democracy in the Maldives for the notion of “spin” to come along.

The government was quick to sign up PR firm Hill and Knowlton, part of the massive WPP media empire, to help public relations. They now have a ‘strategic communications unit’ and are very careful to manage their message in the most effective way possible.

As democracy grows, and the shackles of media control slowly come loose, the government will realise it cannot control journalists, only its own message to them. The MDP must realise the same, and should have done so for the case of 10/11.

I do not take issue with the point that the MDP has appeared to have lost ground after 10/11. It has. I take issue with the fact that it actually has lost ground. It has not.

The government has controlled people’s perception of the issue very cleverly, and has many believing that the MDP was weakened by 10/11, and is now splintering. Foreign Minister, Dr. Shaheed was reported to have said in Haama Daily recently that he could not bring the Commonwealth diplomat, Musa Hitham, to the country to oversee talks, because the MDP was splitting. That was classic spin straight out of the Hill and Knowlton handbook.

That Ibrahim Ismail (Ibra) has resigned to form a new party is not a symptom of MDP weakness. It is a consequence of the development of a democratic mentality amongst Maldivians, who now want to express themselves through greater political association. In fact, as the man himself argues, his new party actually weakens the government’s stance, and opens up a new front for attack. If, as many expect, Ibra comes out representing businessmen, his party will form a very wealthy and influential new front.

The only MDP split they need to be concerned about, is between the parliamentarians and the new shadow cabinet. Acting Party President, Zaki, says the split will allow the MPs to focus on their work in the Majlis while the shadow ministers deal with policy and press. The MDP needs to ensure that is true, in order to maintain unity.

But, spin and verbal legerdemain aside, the MDP has benefited from the 10/11 experience. To show its strength, it has flexed its muscles but not used violence. That gives it a strong stance in talks with the government – “power is nothing without control,” as an iconic TV advert for tyres once said.

The MDP have shown they can bring people on to the streets. They have also shown they can control them, calling off the protest at the last minute and ensuring it did not go ahead. That shows potential power, and discipline.

The government, on the other hand, has emerged red-faced, smiling sweetly and trying to persuade foreign diplomats it had no choice but to arrest more than a hundred people. The fact they did so is key. It has left the regime looking far more repressive than the international community feels comfortable with, and also clearly shaken by the threat of protest.

Releasing prisoners in dribs and drabs, it looks like a naughty child returning stolen sweets to Mummy. As numerous statements and reports spill out condemning the arrests and detentions, the government’s moral authority has been hit. They are working hard to put that right, and nearly every headline coming out of the Strategic Communications Unit currently features the words, “human rights.”

That is not to say diplomats are not concerned about the MDP’s behaviour. The MDP does need to exercise restraint and impose discipline on itself, as the UK High Commissioner, Dominick Chilcott, said. But he also pointed out: “Democracy makes societies more united…it releases pressure…it is a safety valve.” Unless the safety valve is turned on, it is a real concern that people will become impatient and look for alternative means of provoking real reform.

That must not happen. One way of preventing it is through a consolidation of party politics. It is time for more ideology. The political parties must start expounding their political visions. It is time for the inflammatory rhetoric to stop, and the policy building to begin.

The other criticism made in the aftermath of 10/11 is that it caused the New Maldives ministers to be sidelined. There is some truth in that, but it will prove to be only temporary, as the government needs them – they are the personification of its commitment to democracy.

Without them, there is no-one to assure the international community there is political will on the government’s side to usher in democracy. They are the masters of spin, and the credible face of the regime, so their symbolic status is huge. Without them, nobody will really believe that the cabinet is committed to democracy.

So as November disappears into the past, the Maldives is left with a new political landscape, which is broader and more inclusive. It will mean more political parties and the development and discovery of what a right to political association really means. That, in turn, will give further strength to the democratic process to usher in change.

The MDP has derived power from popular support. It has derived moral authority from its restraint. They are big bargaining chips in future negotiations. Now, with that strong footing, it must show it has the wit and the expertise to rule.

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5,272 signatures in support of the Maldives Social Democratic Party (MSDP) were handed to the Elections Commissioner on Tuesday, Haveeru reports.

No-one from the Elections Commission has agreed to confirm the numbers for Minivan News.

The leader of the MSDP, Reeko Ibrahim Manik, is quoted as saying he believed the new signatures would be “legit.”

Previously, the MSDP had submitted 3,574 signatures, of which the elections commissioner claimed 2,395 had been unacceptable. The commission had said some of the ID numbers had not matched, some signatories had not been 21, some names had been repeated and some signatories were members of other parties.

The Elections Commissioner, KD Ahmed Manik, said his organisation would now begin checking the new signatures.

According to state rules on registering a political party, the names and signatures of 3,000 proposed supporters are required.

“We tried to verify the people last time around also,” the Elections Commissioner said in Haveeru. “Hopefully this time, there will be 3,000 legit signatures. Since there are such a huge number of people who have signed the list, the possibility is very high.”

The MSDP will become the fifth registered party in the Maldives if the Commissioner deems everything to be above board.

There are plans for more political parties in the country, with former Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) president, Ibrahim Ismail, preparing the groundwork for his Liberal Democratic Party.

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Nearly two years on from the tsunami disaster which struck much of South East Asia, including the Maldives, and relief organisations are coming in for heavy criticism for the slow progress they have made.

According to the UN Department for Aid and Development database, seen by the BBC’s Newsnight programme, about US$6.7bn was committed in total by governments and charities to the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand.

However, more than US$3.3bn has not been spent.

United Nations Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, Miloon Kothari has visited the tsunami areas for the UN, and described the news as “very disturbing”.

“It should really not take this long to build permanent housing. I do not accept the explanation that it is going to take four to five years, in some cases, seven. I’m an architect, I know how long it takes to build a house,” he told the BBC.

Former US President Bill Clinton is due to publish a report tomorrow on lessons learned from the tsunami recovery. “Only 30 to 35% of the people have been put back into permanent housing,” he said. “We have to do better than that.”

The international media has also launched a stinging attack on the charities’ work. Today’s Guardian newspaper in the U.K. writes: “Bureaucracy, poor planning and the cynical withholding of money by some governments and charities are believed to have caused the inordinate delays in the four countries most affected – Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the Maldives.”

Here, the British Red Cross now has only until the end of next year to spend its remaining funds, a deadline set by the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella organisation of UK charities. “That wasn’t a realistic time frame,” says Jill Clements, head of the Maldives mission. It now appears highly unlikely that the charity will have completed its work by that time, meaning it will have to decide on a new strategy from 2008.

The International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) insist they have made progress and spent a higher proportion of money donated than anywhere else.

Joe Lowry, and IFRC spokesman, insists the overall picture is not as bad as this latest news suggests. “The Maldives has shown the best progress,” he says. “We said that it would take us probably five years to complete our programmes, we are two years in and we have already spent 40% of our money, more in Maldives.”

“The headlines are disappointing for us because it shows that the message of what we are trying to achieve has not been understood,” he said, speaking to Minivan News.

He added that the slow pace of recovery is the result of careful planning. “We have a situation where we want to be actually positive that people have ownership of land before building,” he says, saying that questions such as planning permission and various government regulations have to be resolved before building can start.

He also claims the IFRC has tried hard to “build back better” and provide full infrastructure to compliment the housing. “We would be neglecting our responsibilities if we just built housing estates without all the myriad things that go into building a community,” he said.

The IFRC’s achievements to date include helping the Red Cross Red Crescent to build 106 permanent homes, with 553 under construction, out of a planned total of 1,550. They have also helped with the construction of four out of 15 supplementary water supply systems.

The IFRC has been involved in the foundation of the Maldives Red Crescent, which is still not up and running after more than a year of arguments and wrangling between officials.

Another high-profile failure has been redevelopment on the island of Kolhufushi, Meemu Atoll, by the British Red Cross. Former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, and President Gayoom have visited the island, which was one of the worst hit. Redevelopment work there is now on hold, half finished, and islanders are furious.

The British Red Cross abandoned the project in May after continued in-fighting between the two villages on the island. The charity has told the government to sort out the problems before it will return. So far only 8 out of 1 200 residents are currently living in their own homes. The rest are in temporary shelters.

Jill Clements, head of the British Red Cross mission, has described the fiasco as: “very sad and very frustrating.”

The disagreement focused on a plan to move the entire settlement to the centre of the island, rather than rebuilding houses on the coast. The Red Cross was only there to work only on rebuilding destroyed houses, rather than building on new sites, and was waiting for authorities’ approval before moving ahead.

But majority support for the plans was frustrated by the objections of just five families who wanted to stay where they were. The conflict eventually escalated to a level where the Red Cross had to hire security guards to protect contractors.

The situation is still no less turbulent, and islanders have been protesting this week as Planning Ministry officials attempt to survey the island. They are now working under police protection from 20 officers. Islanders are furious as the half-finished work has destroyed the only agricultural marshland they had, and has seen 400 coconut trees, an important source of food, cut down.

The Red Cross around the world has been given more than $2.2bn. According to their own figures, most of that – $1.3bn – is still in the bank. It promised to build 50,000 permanent houses in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. So far only 8,000 have been completed.

In the Maldives, the Disaster Emergencies Committee says 216 houses had been completed by December. It also says charities have constructed three new schools and built warehouse facilities on 6 islands.

Approximately a third of the Maldives’ population of 300,000 were severely affected by the tsunami, which left 82 people dead. Twenty-six remain unaccounted for and are presumed deceased and 21,663 were displaced.

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Police say they have arrested three men in connection with the death of Ibrahim Shaheem, 27, a Himnadhoo Island Office official found dead last Thursday.

His body was discovered by children on a beach in Himandhoo, North Ari Atoll. Shaheem is thought to have died between 3.15 and 3.45 pm. A police forensic team and the Special Investigations Unit have been carrying out investigations on the island.

Shaheem’s family says he had been out fishing on Thursday afternoon, and spoke to his wife on the phone at 3.15pm. He never replied to a text message she sent him soon after.

His body was taken to hospital in Mahibadhoo Island, South Ari Atoll, where he was pronounced dead. He has since been buried in Himandhoo.

Since his death, it has emerged that Shaheem’s younger brother was attacked last October, and slashed with a box cutter before being tied up and thrown onto a burning boat. Left for dead, he only just survived and was left with severe burns to 35% of his body.

Shaheem’s wife says her husband had received numerous death threats, after video he had taken was submitted by police as evidence in a controversial case over the use of mosques on the island.

The conflict began when most of the local population refused to pray in a government built mosque, saying it was erected upon a former cemetery, defying the preaching of the Prophet Mohamed.

As a result, the islanders constructed their own mosque, “Dhar-ul-Khair”, which was later closed by the government on October 7, who said it was against the Protection of Religious Unity Act. The mosque was then demolished by police.

Shaheem’s video showed locals praying in “Dhar-ul-Khair”, and was submitted as evidence by the police in a case which was later thrown out by the Attorney General.

A reliable source within the Attorney General’s office says the case was scrapped on the grounds that Shaheem’s entry into the premises had been unauthorised under Islamic law.

The government reshuffled its island staff as a result of the row, with Island Chief, Abdul Rahman, being moved to Rasdhoo. His successor, Adam Areef took over the jurisdiction of the island’s office the same day. Former Deputy Chief, Adam Mohamed was also relocated to Malhos.

State newspaper Haveeru reports that in a related case, another man from Himandhoo has been arrested on charges of ‘disrupting the religious unity and creating religious disharmony among the citizens’. Ahmed Shakeeb, 29, who is from Male, was arrested while in Himandhoo, the Maldives Police Service said.

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On Saturday, the Justice Ministry’s Aisha Shujune, announced defamation regulations in the Maldives were to be changed from January 1, 2007, to make it a civil offence with maximum damages set at Rf.1 million.

The next day, after a wave of complaint, Information Minister, Mohamed Nasheed, announced the changes had been ‘parked’.

Then yesterday, in a media briefing, the Information Minister, the Justice Minister, Mohamed Jameel and the Attorney General, Hassan Saeed, turned out to reaffirm that the changes will take place.

The new regulations are to be instituted by ministerial decree, without going through parliament.

This means from next year, breach of defamation regulations will carry a maximum fine of Rf.1 million (US$ 78 125) for “meaningful loss,” and will no longer incur a banishment sentence. There will also be fines for “material loss,” where a claimant can ask for compensation for income lost as a result of damage to his reputation or “honour”.

The new restrictions will be imposed retrospectively, to be applicable to anything communicated since September 1, 2006, leaving many journalists open to lawsuits for regulations which had not existed in the same form at the time, and which they would not have known about at the time.

The double u-turn comes after this website’s sister newspaper, Minivan Daily, lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives regarding the changes. “It is completely in violation of due process,” says senior staff member, Nazim Sattar.

There are fears this may spark a fresh round of litigation against various newspapers and magazines. Minivan is seriously concerned that it will become subject to retrospective defamation lawsuits filed by government ministers, though in private conversation they assure the company that this will not be the case.

Many other journalists are known to be concerned about the changes, but in conversation with Minivan News have been reluctant to comment until they see the proposals in print. The government has promised to furnish journalists with the plans in writing some time next week.

“Firstly…It’s a shame and it’s dangerous to create such a regulatory framework without the legal backing, and secondly – the fact that four months have been advanced to the implementation date – that is a signal that it is politically motivated. If they were sincere, then they shouldn’t have done that,” said Ibrahim Hussein Zaki, Acting President of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

There is also the big issue of the absence of any Freedom of Information legislation to protect journalists or politicians. Ministers have said they will try and pass those proposals in a similar method, through by-passing parliament, but are making no promises.

The definition of the offence will also seemingly be changed, and officials read out the new version to the assembled media on Saturday. It was largely based on the new Defamation Bill.

Translated by Minivan, it says defamation will be committed: “if the honour or reputation of such person alive or dead, or his family member is compromised due to what had been said about him; or if respect or designation obtained by him in his business or work or vocation related to him is compromised; or because of what had been said, if the defamed encounters reluctance by people to deal with him, or refusal to deal with him; or if he encounters a change in the way people showed respect to him, or if people showed dislike or hatred towards him.”

“Defamatory language can be expressed directly or indirectly or metaphorically,” the draft legislation reads.

Defamation will also be deemed to have taken place: “if something defamatory is attributed or thought or understood towards someone by what is spoken by a person, or by writing, or announced aloud or by words let loose, or by indication or signal or movement.”

A London based freedom of expression NGO, Article 19, has described the new Defamation Bill as “vague”, “confusing”, “internally inconsistent”, and “poorly drafted.”

In its report on the Bill, it said it is: “concerned that the bill does not protect journalists from defamation even if the information they report is factually correct. According to the bill, not only does a journalist’s article have to be truthful, it also has to contribute to ‘social harmony.’

Proof of the truth of any impugned statements should fully absolve defamation defendants of any liability in relation to an allegation of harm to reputation. This is recognised in many countries around the world and reflects the basic principle that no one has the right to defend a reputation they do not deserve. If the matter complained of is true, the plaintiff has no right to claim that it should not be publicized,” Article 19 states.

The NGO also takes issue with the notion of “honour” which is raised in the bill, saying it is: “a subjective notion that goes well beyond the idea of reputation, which is the esteem in which other members of society hold a person. If restrictions on freedom of expression are based on subjective notions, they will inevitably fail.”

The proposed changes come only days after the Attorney General, Hassan Saeed, complained to an assembled audience of ministers and diplomats that most of the systemic reform in the Maldives had been made by presidential decree, rather than through parliament.

That speech was deemed too controversial for the transcript to be released to the press.

Neither the Information Minister, nor the Justice Minister nor the Attorney General have answered calls from Minivan News for comment.

Journalists are now citing the following concerns about the regulation changes:

1. The media was not given a written copy of the proposed changes to study and reflect upon.
2. The compensation of Rf.1m for a meaningful loss, as opposed to material loss, is bigger than blood money for killing someone, which is Rf.100 000. (Under Islamic law, blood money can be paid to the family of a murdered person by the killer to absolve him of guilt, only if the family agree to forgive him)
3. The legality of suing someone retrospectively, four months after the alleged offence, under a new regulation that was not in force at the time is uncertain.
4. The Freedom of Information Act, which would clear up many legal loopholes and add a degree of protection to journalists, has not yet been passed.
5. The judiciary is not yet institutionally independent.
6. Newspaper vendors and printers are also implicated in defamation.
7. The absence of a mechanism for the judge to decide whether the author of any alleged defamation had attempted to check the facts and find the truth.
8. The government has so far failed to explain its reasons for making the regulation applicable for 4 months past.
9. The regulation appears contradictory to the principles of the reform bills in the Majlis.
10. The changes offer no immunity to journalists.
11. There has been minimal consultation and study with journalists and politicians regarding this legislation and their rights.

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The Maldives yesterday narrowly missed out on being elected to the committee of a UN anti-torture group.

In a meeting held at the Palace of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, a ten-person international subcommittee for an anti-torture protocol was elected by member states. Maldives came eleventh, with 16 votes out of a possible 29. The U.K. topped the poll with 24 votes.

The Maldives government signed up to the UN’s Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) in late 2005. It came into force in June this year.

Only 29 nations have joined so far, not including the United States. The Maldives is currently the only country in Asia to have ratified the Protocol, though Cambodia and Timor-Lester have signed up and are awaiting ratification.

The scheme establishes an international monitoring system to try to prevent torture of prisoners – the subcommittee will work with national organisations, like the Human Rights Commission, to try to achieve this.

The group’s powers will include the ability to make unannounced visits to jails, after which the subcommittee of diplomats will be able to make recommendations to the states signed up. But the body will not have the power to enforce its recommendations.

The government is upbeat about the organisation, calling it: “an historic day for the prevention of torture in the Maldives and around the world.”

In a press release it added: “The Government’s goal is to attain the very highest standards of torture prevention and we welcome international and national scrutiny of our progress towards that goal by the Subcommittee and the national preventative mechanism respectively.”

But the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) dismisses the government’s move as just a ploy to gain “international attention”.

Ameen Faisal, Shadow Defence Minister, says: “Very recently I have been out of [jail] and although they did not torture us, there are various people who have maybe not been physically tortured, but mentally yes.” He remains unconvinced by the government’s rhetoric.

A number of MDP leaders and members have been tortured in the past. They remain fiercely sceptical of the government’s claims to new found respect for human rights.

The ten states elected to the subcommittee were Argentina, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Mexico, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom and Uruguay.

The OPCAT was adopted by the United Nations on 18 December 2002 and formally entered into force, with the twentieth State ratification, on 22 June 2006. The Maldives was one of the 20 original members States of the OPCAT, having signed the instrument on 14 September 2005 and formally acceded on 15 February 2006.

The newly elected Subcommittee is expected to hold its first session in Geneva from the 19 to 23 February 2007.

The 29 States Parties to the OPCAT are: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Benin, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Georgia, Honduras, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Senegal, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Uruguay.

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