Tag: supreme court

EC dismissals: MDP condemns, government coalition commends decision

Following the Supreme Court’s removal of Elections Commission (EC) President Fuwad Thowfeek and Vice President Ahmed Fayaz from their posts, responses have come from across the political spectrum.

While coalition partner Jumhooree Party (JP) leader and tourism tycoon Gasim Ibrahim has spoken in support of the court’s decision, senior members of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have condemned the verdict, with former President Mohamed Nasheed appealing to the public to stage demonstrations.

Meanwhile, the government has announced that it will proceed with setting in place arrangements to ensure that the upcoming Parliamentary elections are held on schedule on March 22.

Verdict must not be challenged: Gasim

Gasim has stated that no one holding any state position should challenge the verdict of the apex court, which he has claimed demonstrated that no one in any state position can act against any decision of the Supreme Court.

Speaking at an event held at the JP’s central campaign office Kunooz on Sunday night, he asserted that the verdict was the direct result of the actions of EC President Fuwad Thowfeek. Fuwad himself had admitted to having acted against the orders of the Supreme Court, he added.

“The reason why I am praising the decision of the Supreme Court is because, in order to maintain national unity and peace, this verdict has demonstrated that no one can act in breach of the rule of law,” Gasim is quoted as saying in local media.

Gasim stated that the final decisions lie with the apex court, and no one – including the parliament – can challenge these decisions. He called upon those displeased with the court’s verdict to “adopt the way of peaceful dialogue instead of taking to the streets and protesting”.

Nasheed calls on citizens to protest

Speaking at a political rally in the island of Dhihdhoo on Sunday night, former President Mohamed Nasheed described the verdict as “unconstitutional” and called on citizens to come out in protest.

He stated that it was the saddest moment in the constitutional history of the Maldives, accusing the apex court of “undermining the constitution which consists of high hopes of the citizens” and of “stripping independent commissions of their powers”.

“Tonight we are seeing the Supreme Court undermine the constitution of the Maldives by leaving the EC powerless and sentencing its president and vice president to jail.”

“It is the parliament that is tasked with oversight of the work of the EC. The constitution very clearly states this. Tonight we have seen [the Supreme Court] attempt to undermine the hopes of a large number of citizens”.

Nasheed stated that the new constitution of the Maldives was set in place and accepted by the people due to the bitter experiences that they had previously known.

“It was because injustice, discrimination, and inequality had settled among us to alarming extent. The Maldivian people wanted to enjoy the country’s richness to its full extent, Maldivians wanted to enjoy the certainty of having human rights safeguarded at its fullest. They wanted justice to be served in the Maldives.”

“If the elections are not held in a free and fair manner, then the resulting government will not be free or fair either,” Nasheed stated, calling on citizens to get strength from one another, to overcome their fears, and to come out in protest against the Supreme Court’s decision.

Nasheed said that the MDP needed to decide whether it will participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections. A meeting of the party’s National Council will take place at 9pm tonight.

Party Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik questioned whether the court had the authority to remove members of the EC, whilst Spokesman Hamid Abdul Ghafoor described the decision as “evidence that we will not see a free and fair election in this country”.

Will take necessary action to implement SC verdict: Government

The government has meanwhile stated that it will take all necessary action to implement the Supreme Court verdict without delay.

“The government will not criticize or challenge this verdict. In the current system of governance, the executive’s role is to implement whatever responsibilities that such an order places on us without further delay. We will proceed to do just that,” President’s Office Spokesman Ibrahim Muaz Ali stated.

The president will work on sending names for the vacant EC posts of the parliament as soon as possible, he said, noting that the court’s verdict ordered the elections to go ahead on schedule.

“The government believes that the parliament should also cooperate in such matters. The sad thing is that this is not the spirit we are seeing from the parliament,” Muaz stated, expressing concern about the delay in parliament in appointing a member to the previously vacated EC position.

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Alleged calls between EC Chair Thowfeek and former President Nasheed leaked

Following the Supreme Court’s verdict removing Elections Commission (EC) President Fuwad Thowfeek and his deputy Ahmed Fayaz from their positions, an alleged phone call between Thowfeek and former President Mohamed Nasheed has been leaked on social media.

The approximately 3 minute long recording consists of Thowfeek and Nasheed allegedly speaking on two different instances. The first conversation appears to involve Thowfeek expressing concern that the court was looking into the case against the EC, and the second focuses on the re-registration to various constituencies of people on the municipal register.

In the first call, the voice alleged to be Thowfeek’s states that “the Supreme Court has once against started on one of its games”, opining that it posed challenges in the work that the commission is conducting in preparation for the parliamentary elections.

While half of the response – alleged to be Nasheed’s – is unclear, he can be heard as saying that he has been made aware of the matter and is thinking about it.

The second call – seemingly initiated by Nasheed – consists of Nasheed calling Thowfeek and speaking about those on the municipal register being redistributed to various constituencies.

“Some of our members went to discuss the matter of the municipal register border, didn’t they? It was agreed then that Maafannu will be kept as in the final report, yes? In short, it was agreed that some changes will be brought to Henveiru and the remaining people on the register will be distributed to the four constituencies of Maafannu, yes?” the voice alleged to be Nasheed’s is heard saying.

The respondent in the recording is then heard to say: “Yes yes, the current borders are something that everyone has agreed on.”

The first voice then inquires, “have any additional changes been brought to the list later on the request of Maafannu Hulhan’gu constituency’s MP Abdulla Abdul Raheem?”

Thowfeek responds saying that no such changes had been brought, but that Abdul Raheem had come to the commission and made many comments.

“I deliberated with various politicians about my concerns”: Fuwad Thowfeek

Thowfeek has responded to the leaked audio, speaking to local media Haveeru today (March 10).

He stated that in various instances, he had deliberated about numerous concerns that arose during his work at the Elections Commission, with numerous political actors.

He detailed that he had spoken of his concerns regarding the Supreme Court’s case against the commission with various politicians, including former President Nasheed.

“I also shared this concern with President Abdulla Yameen through a text message. In that same manner, I shared my concerns with Nasheed too,” he is quoted as saying.

Regarding the conversation about the municipal register, Thowfeek stated that various politicians had visited the commission and held a number of different discussions on the matter.

He said that he had addressed any questions that politicians had about how the commission had sorted out the matter of the register, and had clarified any doubts they might have had.

In this manner, he had offered clarifications to Nasheed, as well as to various members of parliament via phone or through their visits to the commission offices.

“This includes members from all political parties. This even consists of members who support the government. I do not see that there is any problem with offering clarifications about a matter to anyone,” he stated.

The full leaked recording can be listened to here.

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Supreme Court strips Fuwad, Fayaz of EC membership

The Supreme Court has stripped Elections Commission (EC) President Fuwad Thowfeek and Vice President Ahmed Fayaz Hassan of their membership in the commission and sentenced the former to six months in jail.

The jail sentence was however suspended for three years.

The Supreme Court judgment also ordered the executive, parliament and the EC to “make all necessary arrangements” within six days to conduct the parliamentary elections as scheduled on March 22.

According to article 175 of the constitution, at least three members are required to “constitute a quorum at a meeting of the Elections Commission, and any decision of the Elections Commission shall be taken by a majority of votes of the members present and voting.”

With the Supreme Court’s removal of the EC’s president and his deputy, the remaining members are Ali Mohamed Manik and Mohamed Farooq.

Thowfeek was sentenced under article 88 of the penal code, which states that it is an offence to “disobey a lawful order”.

The Supreme Court summoned EC members on February 27 and began a surprise trial on charges of contempt of court under new ‘sumoto’ regulations that allow the apex court to initiate proceedings and act as both prosecution and judge.

Of the five judges on the bench hearing the case, Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain and Justice Adam Mohamed Abdulla issued dissenting opinions.

The majority opinion was formed by Justice Abdulla Saeed, Justice Ali Hameed Mohamed, and Justice Ahmed Abdulla Didi.

Delivering the verdict, Justice Saeed contended that EC members had “openly and systematically” brought the Supreme Court into disrepute, “deliberately challenged Supreme Court rulings” and “serially held [the court] in contempt” during press conferences.

The EC’s announcement for dissolving political parties without a minimum membership of 3,000 was in violation of the Supreme Court judgment that struck down articles in the Political Parties Act, the verdict stated.

Moreover, Fuwad Thowfeek’s public statements against the Supreme Court’s “procedures and jurisdictions” contravened the Judicature Act and constituted an act in violation of article 141 of the constitution – which states, “No officials performing public functions, or any other persons, shall interfere with and influence the functions of the courts.”

The court determined that the president and vice president must bear responsibility for “disobeying and challenging” Supreme Court judgments and orders, which were issued in its capacity as “the guardian of the constitution.”

Fuwad and Fayaz’s actions also contravened article 145(c) – which states, “The Supreme Court shall be the final authority on the interpretation of the Constitution, the law, or any other matter dealt with by a court of law.”

The court ruled that the pair had “lost the right and legal status to remain members of the commission” and declared the seats vacant.

“Practical difficulties”

While testimony given to a parliamentary committee was used to implicate commission members of contempt of court at the second hearing, at the last hearing of the ‘sumoto’ trial on March 5 the Supreme Court imposed a travel ban on EC members pending a judgment.

Following the Supreme Court’s summoning of EC members last month, former President Mohamed Nasheed declared that the MDP will boycott the parliamentary elections if the court removes EC members.

The Supreme Court’s actions have also been been criticised by civil society and the European Union.

Speaking to Minivan News tonight, Thowfeek said he was unsure how the parliamentary polls could take place as scheduled in less than two weeks.

He noted that the president would have to invite applications from interested candidates for the three vacant EC posts and forward nominees to parliament, after which a parliamentary committee would evaluate the nominees ahead of a vote on the Majlis floor.

“It’s very difficult for me to say anything because the Supreme Court reason given for our punishment is because of when I spoke about the impracticality of the 16 point guidelines,” he said.

“When I talk about the practical difficulties, they say nobody is supposed to talk about the practical difficulties.”

Today’s Supreme Court judgment meanwhile stated that Thowfeek had admitted to attempting to hold the second round of last year’s presidential election despite a Supreme Court stay order halting the electoral process.

Following the first round in which former President Mohamed Nasheed emerged the frontrunner with 45.45 percent of the vote, third-placed candidate Gasim Ibrahim sought annulment of the results alleging widespread electoral fraud.

Pending a ruling on the business magnate’s appeal, the Supreme Court indefinitely suspended the second round scheduled for September 28 and issued a supplementary midnight ruling ordering the police and military to forcibly prevent the EC from conducting the polls.

The EC had said it intended to comply with the constitutionally-mandated deadline for the run-off, but was forced to capitulate after it was surrounded by special operations police with orders to storm the building, arrest officials and confiscate ballot papers.

On October 7, the Supreme Court annulled the results of the first round of the polls conducted on September 7 in a controversial 4-3 decision – citing a confidential police report – despite unanimous positive assessment of the polling by more than a thousand domestic and international election observers.

The eventual revote on October 19 was also obstructed by police, after Progressive Party of Maldives candidate Abdulla Yameen and Gasim refused to sign the voter registry – a requirement from a 16-point guideline imposed on the EC by the Supreme Court judgment.

* A previous version of this article stated that all four members were sentenced to jail. The Supreme Court verdict later shared with the media however stated that only Fuwad Thowfeek was sentenced.

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Week in review: March 1– 8

This week saw tensions between the Elections Commission (EC) and the Supreme Court rising as the commissioners were hauled before the court once again.

After telling a Majlis committee that the court’s election guidelines were undermining the commission’s work, EC Chair Thowfeek was grilled by the bench before a travel ban was placed on himself and his colleagues.

As well as having their travel restricted, EC members also raised concern that the commission’s budget – in addition to being given piecemeal by the Finance Ministry – was insufficient to conduct the March 22 Majlis poll.

With voter re-registration completed this week, the EC noted that one in four voters intended to vote in places other than their permanent residence.

After the US State Department’s human rights report joined the chorus of those critical of the Maldives judiciary, Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon asked the international community to support rather than undermine the country’s courts.

After receiving criticism from the political opposition for failing to mention the judiciary’s issues in his first address, President Yameen stated that he had complete trust in the institution.

This comment prompted the Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) Mohamed Nasheed to suggest that this faith stemmed from the Progressive Party of Maldives’ strong influence over the courts.

Speaking on the campaign trail, Nasheed pledged that an MDP majority in the Majlis would seek to reform both the judiciary and the Judicial Services Commission.

Two fellow MDP MPs seeking to return to the campaign trail were the recently jailed Abdulla Jabir and the recently stabbed Alhan Fahmy.

While Jabir’s legal team pleaded with the court to allow the Kaashidhoo MP the opportunity to campaign during his incarceration, Alhan was told that the Civil Court could not invalidate the candidacy of the disputed Feydhoo by-election winner.

Government agenda

As well as listing the government’s recent achievements during his address at the Majlis opening this week, President Yameen explained that a legislative agenda had been formulated. This agenda was subsequently revealed by the Attorney General to include 98 new bills and 109 amendments to existing laws.

The government’s pledge to increase the pension to MVR5000 was delivered – after some confusion – while the Home Ministry’s drive against drugs continued with plans made to reintroduce sniffer dogs to the Maldives.

Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz received a royal welcome from the government this week, releasing a joint statement with Yameen reiterating the countries’ mutual commitment to moderate Islam and strengthened bilateral ties.

As the fallout from the IGMH HIV scandal continued, hospital officials revealed that a member of staff had been taken into police custody after admitting culpability for the error which led to the transfusion of infected blood.

Health Minister Dr Mariyam Shakeela explained that the expenses of the victim’s children would now be borne by the state, though local NGO Voice of Women expressed concern that the family may still face discrimination due to “societal myths and misinformation” about the illness.

Shakeela told the Majlis government oversight committee that her resignation was not the solution to the health sector’s problems.

The same committee was also informed that a Maafushi Jail inmate – left in a coma after being attacked by his cellmates in February – had requested to be taken out of his quarters more than an hour before the attack.

The government’s attempts to keep Raajje TV away from President’s Office press conferences were dropped by the AG this week, while the broadcasting commission asked DhiTV to respond to allegations that it had irresponsibly criticised the Anti Corruption Commission.

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“They say they have trust in the judiciary because they can influence it”: Nasheed

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has responded to President Abdulla Yameen’s declaration of trust in the judiciary by alleging that his confidence arises from the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives’ (PPM) ability to influence the judicial process.

Nasheed stated that both Yameen and his coalition partner Gasim Ibrahim of the Jumhooree Party were expressing utmost trust in an institution that the European Union and the United Nations, as well as Maldivian citizens continued to regard as in need of reform.

“By insisting that they hold such a strong trust in this institution, they are really confessing to the fact that they have undue political influence over this institution.”

They are saying that they have confidence that they can do whatever they want at any particular time through these courts,” Nasheed suggested.

He stated that the biggest obstacle to maintaining Islamic principles was the corrupt state of the judiciary and accused the Supreme Court of abusing and breaching the constitution.

“What is most needed is the services of a lawyer to become free of criminal charges. The government should not be allowed to place whatever charges they want against citizens,” he continued.

“What we are seeing today is the Supreme Court raising charges against anyone whenever they want and then themselves launching investigations into the matter,” Nasheed said, adding that the Supreme Court was currently acting in a manner previously observed in the 1980s.

Nasheed further described the apex court as having turned into a “political campaign office” due to what he alleged were political discussions which were taking place among the judges, and various statements of political nature made by them.

He accused the court of working “like the police, with utter impunity”, adding that the MDP would continue to raise its voice against any and all unconstitutional actions – regardless of who commits them.

Case against the Elections Commission

Speaking with regard to the Supreme Court’s current case against the Elections Commission (EC), Nasheed alleged that the panel of judges were “pulling members of the EC to court in an attempt to exert political influence over them”.

He dismissed the court’s actions as being unconstitutional, stating that as per law, the People’s Majlis – and not the apex court – held oversight powers over the EC.

Meanwhile, Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed has levied criticism against the EC, arguing that justice must be served to all alike, regardless of the office they hold.

He accused the EC of deliberately presenting obstacles and difficulties to his PPM at the approach of every election.

“Every time the PPM complains that the time the commission provides for any certain task is not sufficient, the EC will claim that they cannot extend the deadline. Then they will go ahead and extend the deadline anyway. This is something that we in PPM find very worrying,” Jameel said.

Jameel said that in order to win any election, the PPM had to face three competitors – the Maldivian Democratic Party, clandestine funds provided to the MDP by unknown entities, and the Elections Commission itself.

The Vice President further accused the EC of working against the laws which govern it, and of attempting to work in a manner that is beneficial to a certain party.

Civil Service

Speaking of his recent trip to the southern atolls, former President Nasheed noted that he had observed a trend of employees being transferred or fired based on their political affiliations.

“I want to say to the Civil Service Commission’s President Dr Latheef to please be aware. If even a single civil servant has to face such a loss, how will you defend your seat once we gain majority in parliament? We will closely observe what is done to the civil servants,” Nasheed stated.

He also alleged that employees at various tourist resorts were also being unduly dismissed for political reasons.

In the last quarter of 2013 – just ahead of the presidential election – employees from Irufushi Beach and Spa Resort and Sun Island resort spoke to Minivan News about what they alleged was the purging of employees based on their political affiliations.

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Supreme Court imposes travel ban on Elections Commission members

The Supreme Court has today ordered Elections Commission (EC) members not to leave Male’ until a verdict is reached in the ongoing contempt of court case.

EC Director General Mohamed Shakeel has said the order was addressed to all four members separately.

EC President Fuwad Thowfeek has revealed that he yesterday asked the court for a two day medical trip to Sri Lanka.

“I requested to leave from Thursday to Tuesday, but I have now postponed the trip till the case is over,” said Fuwad.

The order came just hours after the court concluded a hearing in the ongoing contempt of court case against the commission today.

Today’s hearing had focused mainly on Thowfeek’s comments about the court’s guidelines, made in the Majlis government oversight committee on Monday.

The judges questioned Thowfeek over his statements, asking if he would follow the guidelines in the coming elections.

Similar comments made by EC members in the same committee were also used by the court in the previous hearing of the trial.

While Article 90 of the constitution provides parliamentary immunity for anything said in the People’s Majlis or it’s committees with the exception of statements “contrary to a tenet of Islam”, Justice Abdulla Didi today repeated his argument that contempt of court is against a tenet of Islam.

Chief Justice Faiz said that, even within the parliament, an ongoing case should not be discussed and when asked about such a case one could object to answering.

Judge and plaintiff in the same case

When Justice Dr Ahmed Abdulla asked if Thowfeek had made any comments stating that the court had acted against the constitution, he responded by saying that the judge, plaintiff, and defendant should be three separate people.

He said going against it would be against the spirit of the Constitution and Islamic Shariah.

Justice Abdulla Didi responded by saying that initiating a case on a court’s own accord is practiced in civilised societies and said that the constitution allows referring to practices used in democratic and civilised societies.

When Thowfeek reiterated that the court could not be a plaintiff in their own case, he was interrupted and asked not to create ‘fitna’ (mischief) without proper legal knowledge and warned that such comments could be considered as contempt of court.

The EC Chief later said the court’s Suo Motu regulation is against the spirit of the constitution and that it has created legal some conflicts.

Justice Abdulla Saeed explained that in Islamic Shariah and historical practice in Maldives it was the court or the judge that summoned people, and that prosecution by the state was recent innovation.

When Thowfeek asked if the case against EC was a criminal or a civil case, Justice Abdulla Didi said it was a Suo Motu case.

Following SC guidelines

The second major issue raised at the hearing was the obligation to follow all requirements SC guideline that came with the verdict which annulled the September 7 presidential poll.

Fuwad told the court that it was impossible to gain the signatures of all election candidates as required by the guidelines.

Justice Abdullah Saeed said that “the court verdict is the law and what is meant in the constitution” and warned that EC’s refusal to follow verdicts could prompt members of the public to do the same, leading to lawlessness in the country.

Though he insisted that the EC was willing to follow the verdict, Fuwad said that candidates could not be forced to sign the voters list.

Justice Adam Mohamed Abdulla explained the independence and powers of the judiciary, referring to Article 141 (d) and (c) of the constitution and other regulations.

He questioned the rest of the EC members separately about their views on Thowfeek’s comments on the case and the the Supreme Court guidelines.

All members agreed that the guidelines should be followed, but expressed there were difficulties in following these guidelines. Like Thowfeek, the statements of other EC members who tried to detail the difficulties were interrupted by the judges.

Justice Abdulla Didi said that the guidelines were not impossible, and criticised the commission’s spending on ballot boxes in foreign countries such as the UK.

The EC was accused of spending a lot of money on that included “staying in five star hotels”.

Stating that it was against international best practices, he said that if the EC wanted they could send the list to the candidates who refuse to come to Male’ and sign the lists.

EC members were first summoned to the court on February 12 when the court launched the trial on charges of contempt of court under newly introduced ‘Suo Motu’ regulations which allows it to initiate hearings on it’s own accord.

The next hearing of the trial have been scheduled for Sunday at 1400 hours.

The court proceedings have been criticised by the civil society and the European Union.

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PG drops contempt charges against former AG Suood

The Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office has decided not to prosecute former Attorney General Husnu Suood on charges of contempt of court, local media has reported.

In January, the Supreme Court suspended Suood and barred the prominent lawyer from all courts pending a court-ordered police investigation of alleged contempt of court.

The former AG had represented the Elections Commission (EC) in the election annulment case before being thrown out and barred from proceedings.

The apex court contended that Suood’s alleged remarks in social media, criticising its judgment annulling the first round of last year’s presidential election constituted contempt of court.

The PG’s decision came after police forwarded the case for prosecution upon completion of its investigation.

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MDP majority will reform Supreme Court and JSC, says Nasheed

President Mohamed Nasheed has said that Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) will change the number of judges in the Supreme Court and strive to bring their thinking closer to that of the people, and closer to justice.

“We can never accept the level of political influence and the ugly money of corruption that has entered most courts of Maldives. We have to reform these courts. Development for the Maldives can only be achieved if the people Maldives are able to get justice and equality.”

Speaking at a parliamentary campaign rally in Thinadhoo, Gaafu Dhaalu atoll, Nasheed said that the judicial watchdog will also be reformed by amending the Judicial Services Commission Act.

He said that the MDP’s priority was judicial reform, and that nothing else could be carried out in the Maldives without such reform.

Nasheed said that society does not accept the offering and taking of bribes by judges or their meddling in political affairs.

“We cannot accept the judiciary’s meddling with the Elections Commission under the parliament’s guardianship. With a Maldivian Democratic Party majority in the 18th People’s Majlis, we will – God willing – reform the judiciary,” he said.

Decentralisation

Nasheed said the MDP was competing in the parliamentary elections with a promise of obtaining the ownership of local resources for locals.

“We have to empower the councils. As long that power is retrained, we won’t be able to achieve the development we want,” Nasheed said.

Stating the central government in Malé could  not achieve development without decentralisation and the empowerment of local councils, Nasheed said that islands are capable of carrying out their development activities by themselves.

“The wealth of our country is widespread and enormous. Our people have even today started accepting that this is not the rightful amount for the people. Our objective is to get for the people their rightful due,” said the former president.

Referring to the ‘southern rebellion’ of 1959, Nasheed said that it was the same rightful due that the people of Thinadhoo and Huvadhoo hoped and protested for in the past.

“Back then most of us saw the people’s protests as acts against the state. By any modern standard they were protests. Excessive force was used to disperse those protests and many people died.”

“We don’t want to see that, but people will stand up if they these powers are not given to them, and they will work to get their powers,” Nasheed said.

A key objective of the MDP in the parliament was to hold the government accountable as an opposition party, he added, reiterating that the MDP would encourage the fulfillment of government pledges in line with the party policies.

During campaigning for his Progressive Party of Maldives last week, President Abdulla Yameen told party supporters that an MDP majority would seek to oust his government from office.

Indeed, following the local council elections in January, Nasheed pledged that his party would take advantage of any legal means to remove Yameen after what it maintains was a fraudulent presidential election last year.

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Foreign Minister calls on international community not to undermine Maldives’ judiciary

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dunya Maumoon has called on the international community to refrain from undermining the Maldives’ judicial system.

“We request our international partners to support us. We request you to contribute constructively in overcoming our challenges. We urge you not to undermine our judicial system,” said Dunya during the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council yesterday.

“We call on all to respect our institutions, young though they may be. And we urge you to base your partnership with us on dialogue and cooperation, not on judgment and retribution,” she added.

She pledged the government’s commitment to “uphold universal human rights norms and values” without compromising the country’s “religious and cultural identity and heritage in the process of change”.

The Maldives Judiciary have been the subject of criticism from a number of UN and other international bodies in recent months.

The UN Human Rights Committee on civil and political rights has said it is “deeply concerned about the state of the judiciary in the Maldives”, while the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay last year accused the Supreme Court of “subverting the democratic process”.

UN Special Rapporteur for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Gabriela Knaul expressed concern over the judiciary in a 2013 report, with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) had in 2011 stated that the Maldivian courts were failing to serve the public impartially.

As recently as last week the US state department described the Maldives’ judiciary as “not independent and impartial” and “subject to influence and corruption”.

The Supreme Court is currently pursuing contempt of court charges against the Elections Commission over comments made  in a privileged parliamentary committee regarding the annulment of last year’s presidential election first round.

European Union and civil society groups have expressed concern over the courts current proceedings.

Democratic transition and human rights

Dunya said the country’s “long walk towards consolidating human rights” began with her father, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s reform agenda in 2004 and it was this agenda that brought a democratic constitution and “full separation of powers” to the Maldives.

Acknowledging that some “setbacks” were faced in the journey, she said that the Maldives has today reached further maturity in its democratic evolution with the “peaceful conclusion” of a “fully transparent” presidential elections.

Stating that president Abdulla Yameen, her uncle, had brought stability to the Maldives, Dunya highlighted the ratification of anti-human trafficking and anti-torture acts.

“The government of president Yameen has proven to be resilient and committed to ensuring a free and fair environment for the people in exceeding their political rights as citizen”. She said.

Referring to the controversial transfer of power in February 2012, Dunya suggested that the people of Maldives had since shown their commitment towards “actualizing democracy through due process” even when faced with international criticism and political upheaval.

HRC membership

Addressing the council for the first time since Maldives’ re-election for a second term as a member of the council, the minister said that being a member had helped Maldives to take ‘some unprecedented and bold measures’ to bring national human rights mechanisms up to international standards.

Dunya said the Maldives had been vocal against terrorism, religious extremism, and Islamophobia throughout its first term, while also speaking for the people of Palestine, Libya , Syria, and all those affected by climate change – with a special focus on the rights of women, children, and persons with disabilities.

She reiterated the Maldives’ call to cease all acts violence against innocent civilians of all communities in the Central African Republic. She said Maldives will continue to stand by “brothers and sisters” in Palestine and called for it to be recognised as an independent and sovereign state with full membership of the United Nations.

The foreign ministry has stated that Dunya will meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Mr Iyad Ameen Madani, and other bilateral and multilateral partners, during her stay in Geneva.

The Maldives council delegation will discuss issues such as human rights and the environment, and freedom of expression and opinion, and will also discuss freedom of religion or belief with the OIC.

The foreign minister’s statement at the council can be viewed here.

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