Month: December 2013

Anti-trafficking act greeted with caution by HRCM

The Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) has welcomed this week’s ratification of the Anti-trafficking act, despite reservations about the legislation itself and the state’s capacity to enforce it.

“It covers many acts of exploitation that will now be considered as offences and it also has penalties in the act for those who commit the crime of human trafficking,” said HRCM member Jeehan Mahmoud.

Earlier this week, the government announced the ratification of the bill, which had been passed in the Majlis on December 3.

Assistant Controller Ali Ashraf has also described the new legislation as “an excellent piece of work”

A President’s Office press release stated that the new legislation clearly defined human trafficking as an offence in the Maldives.

The main objectives of the Anti-Human Trafficking Act were subsequently listed as:

• Preventing trafficking of persons through and across the Maldives

• Establishing the crimes of trafficking in persons and prescribing punishments

• Providing for prosecution of perpetrators of trafficking in persons

• Providing protection and assistance to victims of human trafficking

• Promoting and protecting the human rights of trafficked victims

• Engaging in cooperation with local and international NGOs working against human trafficking

Those found guilty of human trafficking can now face up to 10 years for cases involving adults, which can be extended to up to 15 if children are involved. Accomplices to trafficking can also now receive a seven year sentence.

Both Jeehan and Ashraf, however, maintained reservations regarding the efficacy of the act in the absence of specific definitions of offences and in its failure to include human smuggling.

“We wanted to identify specific acts. In our experience, if specifics are not detailed there is a chance that the offences go without prosecution when they get to the courts,”said Jeehan.

Similarly, Ashraf noted that the failure to include the category of smuggling in the act – different to trafficking in that individuals give a measure of consent to be transported illegally – made it very likely that offenders will be able to evade prosecution.

“The definition of trafficking can be twisted so easily,” warned Ashraf.

Jeehan noted that those smuggled were as vulnerable to exploitation by their handlers as those trafficked.

International pressure

In ratifying the bill, President Yameen has fulfilled one of the recommendations given by the US State Department earlier this year to avoid a downgrade to Tier 3 – the lowest rung on the department’s scale.

Relegation to Tier 3 is reserved for states who are neither meeting the minimum requirements to eliminate trafficking, nor are making concerted efforts to do so. The State Department revealed  in June this year that, despite being spared the downgrade to Tier 3 this year, the country would be ineligible for such a reprieve in 2014.

US diplomat Luis CdeBaca – speaking at the launch of the US’s most recent human trafficking report – said that the guarantee of a downgrade had been introduced to prompt action in countries who had been “getting comfortable being on Tier 2 Watch List, doing a minimum amount.”

Jeehan argued that such international pressure had played a “key role” in paving the way for the new legislation, expressing her belief that the move will be viewed positively by international observers.

The Maldives’ downgrading from the Tier 2 watchlist – where it has remained for four years – could potentially leave it open to non-humanitarian and non-trade international sanctions.

A government-ordered report in 2011 revealed human trafficking to be the Maldives second most lucrative industry after tourism – worth an estimated US$123million a year.

The Maldives expatriate worker population is estimated by some sources to be as high as one third of the population with the majority coming from Bangladesh. Bangladeshi authorities temporarily halted worker migration to the Maldives earlier this year in order to check on worker eligibility.

Under the previous government, the Immigration Department had targeted the return of 10,000 unregistered workers by the end of 2013.

Institution building

Jeehan today noted that much work was still needed to build the capacity of state institutions in order to adequately fight trafficking.

“Very little has been done to build the capacity of state officials to counter human trafficking. One thing definitely needed is to build the capacity of state institutions,” said Jeehan.

The capacity of the country’s border control infrastructure to adequately deal with trafficking has been questioned in recent months, following the decision of the previous government to replace border control system offered by Malaysia’s Nexbis company with the US PISCES system.

During the legal wrangles that dogged the Nexbis deal from its initial agreement, the company’s Vice President suggested that groups backing the country’s lucrative human trafficking industry could be seeking to stymie the introduction of its BCS to undermine national security controls.

Ashraf stated that the capacity to meet the requirements of the new legislation was there, but that a number of amendments would be needed to make it fully workable – including special visas for trafficking victims.

“Implementation of the bill will require a lot of effort and coordination,” he added, revealing that the Department of Immigration, alongside the International Organisation for Migration, would be holding a training session for all immigration officials on December 15 for this purpose.

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Military labels global corruption survey a “baseless” attack on its reputation

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has labelled the results of Transparency Maldives’ recently released Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) survey “baseless”.

Criticising local media outlet CNM’s coverage of the report, the MNDF called it “highly irresponsible journalism to publish such news without verifying the facts of it. We also call on media to refrain from publishing such news in the future.”

The survey – reported widely across local media – revealed the results of a random sample of 1,002 people interviewed via telephone on their perceptions of corruption and bribery in the country.

Whilst not perceived by respondents to have been the most corrupt organisation in the country, the military appeared fifth on the list, with 34percent of those interviewed viewing the MNDF as ‘extremely corrupt’.

“While the Maldivian Army has a respectful, pride-filled history, and while every soldier in this force is one who prioritises the nation above self and works with heart and soul to serve this nation, we condemn acts of this manner which aims to hurt the institution’s reputation, create mistrust in the institution, and to incite hatred and discord in citizens’ hearts towards this institution,” responded the MNDF today (dhivehi).

The Majlis topped the GCB’s list with 60 percent feeling it to be ‘extremely corrupt’, followed by political parties (57 percent), the judiciary (55 percent) and the police (also 34 percent). The leading statistic featured in the report was that 83 percent of respondents felt that corruption had not improved – or had worsened – in the past two years.

Recently appointed Home Minister Umar Naseer last week sanctioned the removal of any material inciting hatred towards the police, who have made no comment on the GCB today.

Transparency Maldives’ Advocacy and Communications Manager Aiman Rasheed told Minivan News today that the survey was based on a globally accepted methodology.

“The GCB is reviewed by a panel of experts at Transparency International Secretariat, including independent experts. The methodology is sound.”

Rasheed noted that 79% of the people said that the MNDF was corrupt, up from 54% in the GCB published in Jan 2012.

“As to the reasons why, the perception of corruption is tied to the events and happenings in the country. The events in 2012 and 2013 may not have helped build confidence.”

“The important take away is that the perception of corruption in an institution is a measure of trust and confidence in the institution of MNDF,” added Rasheed.

The MNDF’s outburst marks the second time this month that the media has been attacked for reporting on the military. Last week, the Defence Ministry ministry threatened to take action against any media outlets attempting to criticise the military’s disciplinary policies.

A series of dismissals from within the military have followed the inauguration of President Abdulla Yameen, the election of whom came at the end of a protracted election process which, including one annulled vote and the extension of predecessor President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s term beyond the constitutionally mandated deadline.

During the electoral crisis, a letter signed by 17 high-ranking officers – which expressed concern over possible repercussions in the absence of a president-elect by the end of the presidential term on November 11 – was leaked on social media.

Mainstream media reporting of this letter prompted Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim – since re-appointed – to accuse those outlets concerned of illegally “sowing discord and disorder in the military”.

Several officers were suspended, demoted and transferred following the letter and the MNDF amended its regulations to punish any soldier who “incited upheaval and chaos.”

The following month, 73 mid ranking officers circulated an appeal calling on fellow soldiers not to obey any “unlawful” orders issued by President Waheed or his political appointees.

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JSC’s transfer of superior court judges termed “unlawful” by Chief Justice

Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain has stated the Judicial Service Commission (JSC)’s transfer of superior court judges to other courts is unlawful.

Following the JSC’s decision to transfer Judge Abdulla Mohamed from his post as Criminal Court Chief Judge to the same position in the Drug Court on Monday, Faiz sent a letter to the president of the judicial watchdog Adam Mohamed on Tuesday stating that the commission did not have the legal authority to carry out such transfers.

Faiz subsequently deemed such decisions made by JSC to be “unlawful”.

The letter states that although Article 159(a) gives the JSC the authority to appoint, promote or transfer judges other than those from the Supreme Court, it “must not be interpreted as an absolute right”.

He then stated that the Judges’ Act mandates any transfer of a judge from his appointed court can only be carried out following deliberation with the Judicial Council.

The Judicial Council, meanwhile, is compiled of the seven judges sitting on the Supreme Court bench. Faiz stated in his letter that no judge should be transferred without consulting the Supreme Court first.

The Senior Legal and Complaints Officer Hassan Faheem Ibrahim – acting head at the JSC – confirmed to Minivan News that the commission had received the letter today.

“Since it is the Chief Justice who has sent this letter, we will not have any views on it or comments to make about it. It is the commission who will decide after they have deliberated on the matter. No meetings for the matter have been scheduled yet,” Faheem said.

Article 159(a) of the Maldives Constitution states that “The Judicial Services Commission is entrusted with the responsibility and power to appoint, promote and transfer Judges other the Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court, and to make recommendations to the President on the appointment of the Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court.

Article 49 of the Judges’ Act refers to temporary transfer of judges from one court to another and states “Temporary appointment of a Judge to preside over cases in a court will be decided upon by the Judicial Services Commission under the advice of the Judicial Council”.

Speaking to Minivan News on Monday, appointee from the Parliament to the JSC, Maldivian Democratic Party MP Ahmed Hamza said that about eight judges have so far been transferred from the courts they previously presided over. He added that the decision to transfer Judge Abdulla Mohamed was made to strengthen the courts by transferring experienced judges to different courts so as to spread knowledge and expertise.

Judge Abdulla Mohamed has previously been under investigation from the JSC, for allegations of ethical misconduct and obstruction of corruption investigations among others.

The decision of President Mohamed Nasheed to detain Mohamed in January 2012 fuelled a series of protests by then-opposition political parties, eventually leading to a police and military mutiny and Nasheed’s resignation.

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Police implements 100 day road-map to strengthen service

Police have established a 100 day road-map and have started implementing it in order to strengthen the work of police and to gain the trust of the people.

The road-map is based on four main strategies which seek to increase and enhance operational activities, conduct activities to curb crime, enhance and hasten investigations, and improve the police institution.

Police stated that when the road-map’s aims are achieved, they will be able to provide a safe environment for citizens, to gain the trust of the people and also to provide services to the people more closely. They also noted that it will make police officers more able to work using the available tools and established infrastructure.

80 percent of the investigations filed with police are intended to be completed and sent to the Prosecutor General’s (PG) office as part of enhancing and hastening investigations.

Police have also decided to conclude investigations into crimes other than those of a serious or organised nature in 30 days.

In addition to this, police have said they will share their data link with the Drug Court, the Criminal Court and the PG’s Office.

To achieve the second strategy – increasing and enhancing operational activities – police will follow proactive policing to determine criminals before they commit the crime and conduct intelligence-led special operations.

During the 100 days the police will increase the amount of CCTV cameras in Male’ to 150 and install cameras in Addu City at five different locations.

To accomplish the strategy to curb crime, police will conduct campaigns to raise awareness and to protect victims of child abuse, and will print out leaflets to make people aware of crimes. It will also launch a handbook about the work of the force’s forensic department.

Police said they will also conduct programs to train boat captains, to open job opportunities for youths, and to establish a crime prevention committee.

The road-map also includes sending officers abroad to learn to research ballistic evidence and introducing new ways to investigate complaints about police officers.

Furthermore, building 10 more cells in Dhoonidhoo Police Custodial centre where persons arrested for investigation are detained and building a detention facility for minors were included in the 100 day road-map.

Police have also decided to conclude testing of suspicious drugs within three days and to conduct three special operations to curb the illegal businesses of drug and alcohol.

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UNFPA calls for review of judicial practices surrounding sexual behaviour in the Maldives

The UNFPA has this week released the State of the World Population Report, along with a report focusing on the local context, titled “Reproductive Health Knowledge and Behaviour of Young Unmarried Women in the Maldives”.

The report includes recommendations calling on the state to review existing practices related to the matter within the judicial process, law enforcement, education and health sectors.

Minister of Education Aishath Shiham inaugurated the event, highlighting the state’s plans to resume awareness programs for adolescents in schools in 2014.

“The UNFPA’s Life Skills Package is the program that was most systematically and effectively run in Maldivian schools to tackle the issue of adolescent pregnancies. Over a 1000 people have been trained to be able to conduct this program. I am announcing here today that with the start of the new administrative year in 2014, the UNFPA Life Skill Package will be reintroduced,” she stated.

The minister further noted the importance of including similar concepts in teacher training courses.

Youth sexual behaviour outside marriage

The report states that while the age of marriage has been increased to 18 in the year 2000 – following which the average age of first marriage has risen to 19 in recent years – sexual and reproductive health services and commodity supplies remain available solely to married couples.

It states that while the “underlying assumption is that sexual intimacy does not or should not occur before marriage”, and while this is in accordance with societal and religious views, there is “ample evidence that this is inconsistent with the social realities of youth sexual behaviour”.

The report provides a number of studies supporting their findings, including a youth perception study conducted, in which 90 percent agreed that it is more common for “couples to initiate sexual intercourse before marriage”.

It further notes the existence of young female sex workers, citing the Biological and Behavioural Survey of 2008 which noted a prevalence of “unprotected sex with multiple partners” within the 15 – 17 age group and above.

Another cited study indicated that unsafe practices of abortion are more common among unmarried youth than their married counterparts.

“Pregnancy outside marriage is in fact, a criminal offence…Nevertheless, it has to be acknowledged that sexual activity is a consistent social reality…” the report stated, before pointing out that the issue contributes to the “public health burden of the country”, and that it stems from “a complex mix of health, social and legal consequences, primarily connected to the occurrence of pregnancy outside marriage”.

As the clearest evidence of extra-marital pregnancies, the report cites IGMH’s Family Protection Unit’s data, showing the occurrence of such pregnancies to be the third most common issue among patients it has attended to since it opened in 2006. It states that out of 41 cases recorded in an year, some have resulted from rape and sexual abuse.

“The social and legal implications connected to out of wedlock pregnancy creates an intricate link between pregnancy outside marriage and abortion. Consequently, unsafe abortion is a key issue among young Maldivian women,” it said.

Sexual and reproductive health knowledge

The report highlights that due to societal and religious taboos, sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge among youth – especially unmarried youth – is alarmingly low.

The report states that information related to SRH is taught in schools within the Biology and Islam syllabuses, though not at a meaningful or significant level.

Highlighting the disparity between the number of men and women prosecuted for fornication under Sharia law, the report stated that “paternity testing is not used as admissible evidence in court and the opportunity for men to deny guilt makes male accountability something of a farce”.

The report concluded with a variety of recommendations to the health, education, judicial sectors, as well as media outlets.

In addition to encouraging various forms of awareness raising, the UNFPA called on the law enforcement sector to revise sentencing practices in which gender discrimination occurs, to review the current punitive practice of dissolving marriages if a child is born within a gestation timeframe inconsistent with the duration of marriage, and to review the non-acceptance of paternity testing in cases of extra-marital pregnancies.

Read the full report here (english).

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JSC shuffles nine judges “to strengthen judiciary”

The Judicial Services Commission has announced it will shuffle nine superior court judges in a bid to “strengthen the judiciary.”

The judicial oversight body said the reassignments would uphold public trust in the judiciary and were an opportunity for judges to build capacity and gain additional experience.

The nine reassignments include Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed who has now been transferred to the post of the Drug Court’s Chief Judge. Judge Abdulla’s military detention in January 2012 precipitated the ousting of former President Mohamed Nasheed. He has been accused of obstructing high profile corruption cases and has been investigated for ethical misconduct.

The Prosecutor General (PG) has charged Nasheed with unlawful arrest of a government employee over Abdulla’s arrest, but the case is currently stalled after Nasheed’s legal team challenged the legitimacy of the appointment of the judges-panel to Hulhumale Magistrates Court, where the trial is being heard.

Criminal Court judges Muhuthaz Fahmy and Abdul Bari Yusuf were reassigned to the Drug Court and Juvenile Court respectively.

Yusuf was suspended in February 2013 over allegations of misconduct and the JSC told local media that despite his reassignment, Yusuf remains suspended. However, if his suspension is lifted, he will start work at the Juvenile Court, the JSC added.

The Family Court’s Ibrahim Ali was changed to the Criminal Court.

Drug Court’s judges Zubair Mohamed and Mohamed Easafulhu were reassigned to the Criminal Court while Abdul Sattar Abdul Hameed was reassigned from the Drug Court to the Civil Court.

The Civil Court’s Ali Naseer was changed to the Family Court and the Family Court’s Hassan Shafeeu was reassigned to the Civil Court. The Juvenile Court’s Mohamed Naeem was changed to the Drug Court.

UN Special Rapporteur for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Gabriela Knaul, issued a report in May 2013 expressing concern over the politicisation of the JSC and judiciary.

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Government to collect statistics on youth unemployment

The Ministry of Youth and Sports has announced it will collect statistics on youth unemployment as part of the government’s pledge to create 94,000 new jobs.

The ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) had pledged to provide vocational training, and help unemployed youth find jobs.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed had started a vocational training programme ‘Hunaru’ worth MVR 360 million (US$23 million) in 2011 to lead 8,500 youth to skilled employment in a variety of fields. However, the programme was stopped in February 2012 following Nasheed

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India’s diplomatic course correction averts impasse: Russia and India Report

“Indian diplomacy averted an impasse in the ties with Maldives through a course correction through past several months,” writes Indian career-diplomat M.K. Bhadrakumar for the Russia & India Report.

Bhadrakumar compares recent elections in both the Maldives and Nepal, assessing their impact on India’s external relations.

“When the ‘pro-Indian’ elected president was overthrown in Male last year, Delhi took umbrage. Its fury was fuelled by the summary termination of a highly lucrative contract of an influential Indian firm for managing the Male international airport.

But Maldives pushed back and the futility of the pressure tactic compelled Delhi to rethink and change tack to an equidistant stance between the warring Maldivian political parties.

Thus, although the recent presidential election in Maldives produced a surprise outcome, Delhi could engage the new power centre with alacrity. President Abdulla Yameen accepted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s invitation to visit Delhi for his first overseas trip as head of state.

However, as any passionate reader of Joseph Conrad would vouchsafe, island states wear a deceptively languid look. There is that certain edginess in the air. Curiously, one major decision taken by the new government in Male is to introduce Arabic language in the curriculum of Maldivian schools. The political elites have not hidden their tilt toward ‘Islamization’ of the Maldivian society.

One way of looking at it is that this is only a variant of cultural nationalism, which is sweeping over the region – India included. But then, it also carries the subtle overtone of an attempt to differentiate the island nation from the ethos of the Indian subcontinent.”

Read more

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Transparency Maldives reveals growing perception of corruption

Transparency Maldives’ Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) survey has revealed that 83 percent of people surveyed felt corruption had increased or stayed the same during the past two years.

The survey of 1,002 people – randomly selected and interviewed by telephone – showed respondents to perceive the People’s Majlis as the country’s most corrupt organisation, with 60 percent feeling the legislature to be ‘extremely corrupt’.

Religious organisations were perceived as the least corrupt organisation, with 37 percent of those asked stating definitively that these organisations were ‘not corrupt’.

Speaking at today’s launch event, President of the Anti-Corruption Commission Hussain Luthfy expressed concern at the indicators, noting a clear lack of trust in state institutions.

With local council elections fast approaching, Luthfy pointed out that a failure to reform local government could also be considered corruption.

“In the past five years, the governance system has been so expensive it has impacted the basic public services. Harbors and schools are falling into disrepair.”

Luthy suggested that the current model “bleeds” MVR800 million from the state’s expenditure each year – nearly five percent of the most recently proposed budget.

When submitting the 2014 budget – currently undergoing revisions – Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad urged the state to reduce the size of local level government.

The current model of more than 1,000 elected councillors established by the Decentralisation Act passed in 2010 by the then-opposition majority parliament was branded “economic sabotage” by the incumbent Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government, which had proposed limiting the number of councillors to “no more than 220.”

Luthfy went on to urge more transparency within government companies in order to foster an atmosphere in which corruption can be addressed proactively. He suggested that government owned companies often pass resolutions to obstruct the ACC’s investigations.

In a separate statement today, Luthfy argued said the biggest obstacle to the ACC’s fight against corruption was the absence of an anti-corruption bill. He called upon the Majlis – currently considering such a bill – to take the initiative in fighting corruption.

Education

Today’s GCB launch was accompanied by the introduction of a corruption education pack, including five booklets intended to spread awareness of corruption and its impacts on society.

Whilst the GCB figures showed a strong belief that ordinary people could make a difference in the campaign against corruption – with 84 percent agreeing to this statement – the results revealed a lack of will to take action.

Asked if they would be willing to sign a petition asking the government to do more to fight corruption, 86 percent of those surveyed said they wouldn’t. 70 percent said they would not take part in demonstrations against corruption, whilst 61 percent refused to even to raise awareness of corruption through social media.

The most common area in which bribes were paid was said to be land services, with the most frequent reason for giving bribes being ‘to speed things up’.

Earlier this week the ACC alleged corruption in the award of apartments to individuals as part of the Veshifahi Malé housing programme, ordering the invalidation of 139 of the 448 successful applications.

891 GCB respondents stated that they would report an incident of corruption, although only 3 percent admitted to having personally paid a bribe. 85 percent of those who admitted to being asked to pay a bribe said they had refused.

The sample of people interviewed were predomantly male (66 percent) and from urban settings (65 percent). One quarter of respondents worked in the public sector, with 63 percent described as earning a ‘medium’ scale income.

Transparency Maldives, the local chapter of Transparency International (TI)describes the GCB as one of the tools it uses to better understand corruption.

The group’s most widely used indicator – the Corruption Perceptions Index  – was released last week. For the second consecutive year the Maldives was not ranked after TI was unable to gather the necessary data.

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