Government Welcomes Human Rights Assistance

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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