Tag: UNDP

Prisons burdened with small crimes and poor management, report finds

The Maldivian prison population could be reduced by up to two-thirds if the government would “de-criminalise the offence of drug usage and propose mandatory rehabilitation”, according a report by the government and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The reform could reduce the number of youth incarcerated for minor offences, the report suggested.

The report also found that “the existing legislative framework and the current penal system does not support the human rights guaranteed under the Constitution, nor is it compatible with best practices outlined in the UN Standard Minimum Rules on Treatment of Prisoners.”

The “Prison Assessment and Proposed Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Offenders Report“, published on September 5, was conducted by Dr Aishath Ali Naaz and UNDP program specialist Naaz Aminath. The report surveyed 60 percent of the prison population as of February 2011 to assess current prison conditions and make recommendations.

It is the first report of this scope to be done in the Maldives.

Aminath said the report took five months to prepare. “It involved very consistent record-taking and visits to prisons. About part way through we realized that we needed a legal framework to make a more comprehensive report, so we met with MPs across the board to understand the strengths and weaknesses.” The team had met with government officials throughout the project.

Aminath said timing the release of the report was difficult after the release of prisoners from Maafushi prison in July.

Key issues identified in the report were a lack of legislative framework to support rehabilitation and reintegration programs; widespread accusations of corruption and inappropriate political influence among institutions; poor prison design; and inadequate budgeting and human resources.

The report’s first recommendation for reform was to “de-criminalise the offense of drug usage” and require rehabilitation, according to the offender’s criminal record.

A second recommendation to “establish a restorative justice program to minimize offenders being incarcerated for minor offences” would regulate the currently heavy flow of Maldivian youth into the prison system.

Of prisoners in the Maldives, the majority are males under 30 years of age who are educated below O-levels. At the time of the report, 66 percent of inmates polled were in jail for drug use or possession.

“There are small time drug users of 23 years of age who are being being sentenced for 70 years in prison,” said Aminath. “When you visit other countries, the jails are divided between minimum and maximum security according to the sentence. You know that criminals in maximum security areas are really hard-core. You also find that drug trafficking is a serious offense in most countries, and traffickers do the most time in jail. But here, traffickers get 25 years while small-time users get 60 to 80 years. These are not hard-core criminals, but they’re put away for almost their entire lives.”

Aminath noted that in the past, drug users who test positive for drugs were given two charges: one for using drugs, and another for testing positive. At present, only individuals in possession of a prohibited drug are prosecuted.”

“I’m not condoning drugs,” said Aminath, “but I think we need to help.”

The report criticised Maldivian prisons for being understaffed and poorly managed.

“The problem in the Maldives is that there aren’t proper prisons,” said Aminath. “It’s hard to even say what the capacity of these facilities is.”

After the fires in 2009, Maafushi prison in March and October 2009, Aminath said that basic living equipment like mattresses were not replaced. Maafushi and Male prisons do not have kitchens, and “there is no structure to support the prisoners who are there,” she said.

Asseyri prison was originally designed as a juvenile rehabilitation center. But Aminath noted that it remained empty until this past year, and since then has been filled with inmates of all ages. She said individuals she asked regarding it’s changed purpose were uniformed.

Inmates surveyed said medical services were inadequate. An investigation found that Maafushi prison compensated by sending an average of ten people to Male each day for medical purposes–an excursion which opens opportunities for smuggling good into prison.

Inmates also complained about a lack of structure in prison life. The report lists claims of torture, inhumane treatment, drug availability and false messages of hope from politicians as examples.

Prison regulations also make it difficult for inmates to develop their own structure. Aside from the Qur’an, inmates are not allowed to have any reading material. Only Asseyri and Maafushi prisons have ‘libraries’–rooms with a few books located outside the gated complex. “It’s risky to go there because it’s not within a protected area, and there simply aren’t enough staff to organise daily library trips,” said Aminath. “Plus, there isn’t much to read there. Really, I wouldn’t even call it a library.”

Naaz and Aminath asked prisoners to describe the types of rehab programs they felt were needed. Most recommended religious education (86.4 percent), counseling therapies (76.1 percent) and life skills (75.1 percent).

Among the report’s recommendations for reform is the development of a Mental Health act. It also encourages Parliament to pass legislation that was proposed 3 years ago, including a criminal procedure code, a penal code, an evidence act, and a parole bill.

Another suggestion is to establish a prison industry to train prisoners in vocational skills, a program that would directly support rehabilitation and reintegration programs.

Aminath said the research team is in conversation with the State Minister, and the Home Minister supports the recommendations.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Home Minister Hassan Afeef said, “the Government is committed to improving the rehabilitation system, given
how large a problem drugs are for our community.”

But change won’t happen overnight, Aminath cautioned. She said all institutions “need to strengthen the legal framework and get more involved with the community to make these changes. This applies to all institutions across the board here.”

Correction: A previous version of this story stated that the UNDP team had “‘met with government officials across the board to understand the strengths and weaknesses.'” It should have stated that the UNDP team had “met with MPs across the board to understand the strengths and weaknesses and advocate passing legislative framework bills.” The UNDP team had been in correspondence with government officials from the beginning of the project.

The previous version of the story also stated that, “Aminath noted that drug users who test positive for drugs are given two charges: one for using drugs, and another for testing positive.” It should have stated that “Aminath noted that in the past, drug users who test positive for drugs were given two charges: one for using drugs, and another for testing positive. At present, only individuals in possession of a prohibited drug are prosecuted.”

The previous version also stated that “Asseyri prison was originally designed as a juvenile detention center.” It should have stated that “Asseyri prison was originally designed as a juvenile rehabilitation center. Also, individuals who Aminath asked about its current use as a standard detention center were uninformed. Minivan News apologises for any confusion.”

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UNDP awards US$79,862 to local CSOs in small grants program

The United Nations Development Program has awarded US$79, 862.95 to the 13 winners of the “Support to Civil Society Development” program in the Maldives.

The winning projects, supported by the Small Grants Facility and jointly funded by the UNDP and Australia Agency for International Development (AusAID), were designed by local CSOs and selected out of 54 proposed projects.

United Nations Resident Representative, Andrew Cox, spoke at the UN building today. Cox called civil society a “pillar of democracy”, and a significant factor in democratizing the Maldives. He commented on the large scale changes the country has faced in recent years, and called the Maldives “a country which shows much scope for growth and maturity.

This is the second round of projects in the program. Monitors of the first round had determined that the program was constructive, Cox said.

“Initiatives such as the Monitoring of Political Violence in the First Local Council Elections project, The Empowerment of Women project and The Right to Empower project – among the 09 projects funded in the first round, have indicated steps taken in the right direction by the civil society,” he said.

The second round of projects were selected from 11 atolls, including Raa, Baa, Noonu, Addu City, Malé City, and others. Almost every atoll in the country is represented in the selection.

Among the areas the program intends to address are human rights, governance, gender equality, and youth development. Cox added that the tenets of democracy, such as transparency, accountability, and the voice of the people will be empowered.

Cox backed the program by invoking the Maldives government’s Strategic Action Plan, “which guarantees that space will be allowed for individual freedoms and the civil society to thrive.”

In closing, Cox reminded his audience that significant challenges to establishing a full  democracy remain in the Maldives, but that they can only be overcome by the united efforts of the people. Cox reinforced the UN’s committment to supporting the Maldivian people in their pursuit of a consolidated democratic identity.

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UNDP to fund US$3.3 million project to help tourism sector adapt to climate change

The Ministry of Tourism and UNDP have signed a US$3.3 million project to help the Maldives tourism sector adapt to climate change.

UN Resident Representative Andrew Cox said that as tourism represented 30 percent of the economy and 60 percent of the country’s foreign exchange receipts, “the future of the Maldives is wrapped up in the tourism sector.”

“Right now there is a great deal of variety in how resorts handle the environment and climate change issues,” Cox said. “Some have this as their focus, the basis of their product, while others, it’s fair to say, do not.”

The project, he explained, would seek to help the Ministry of Tourism develop its own regulation, in partnership with the industry.

As well as developing building and planning codes for new resorts, the project included scope for developing environmentally-sound physical infrastructure, energy efficient buildings and practices, climate resilient fresh water management, flood-proofing, waste water management, protection of coastal ridges, reefs and vegetative belts, and diversification of energy sources.

“We are also looking at assessing market-based risk financing,” Cox said. “The Maldives is very vulnerable to natural hazards and disasters, but there are insurance products that can reduce that risk.”

The project will establish “at least 10” community-based adaption projects between tourism-associated communities and operators.

“We often hear of tensions between resorts and communities,” Cox noted, during the signing ceremony today. “This [project] will focus on common responsibility, the management of common resources. What is good for a resort can be good for the island next to it. Rather than have a charity relationship between resorts and local islands, we want to try to build stronger partnerships.”

Asked why the tourism sector required UN involvement if the funding of such adaptation was in the long-term financial interest of the industry, Cox noted that “what we have seen in other countries is that something that seems obvious doesn’t always happen. But this is not something that will be done without the partnership of the industry, and it will depend on investment from the private sector.

“One particular area is decarbonisation – hundreds of millions of dollars will have to be spent on energy, and the cost equation of carbon based fuels is going to become more and more negative so resorts will have to go in the direction [of renewables] anyway.”

He noted a huge demand for such a group response to the challenges, with resort managers expressing frustration at problems relating to issues such as waste management and recycling, and the lack of appropriate infrastructure and regulation at the state level: “Is it really worth continuing to shipping waste to Thilafushi without any recycling or economic benefit?” he asked.

Environmental achievements already reached, such as the recent designation of Baa Atoll as a UNESCO biosphere, “are not just for propaganda value. It will have a marketable effect on the ability to sell tourism in Baa Atoll.”

Tourism Minister Dr Mariyam Zulfa noted that the Maldives already had many resorts that had taken the lead in incorporating environmentally-sustainable measures into their design, operation and management.

“We have resorts in the Maldives that are held up as among the best examples in the world,” Zulfa noted.

“The Maldives has risen to the top among the world’s most exclusive destinations due in no small part to the competitive position derived from its unique natural island environment and surrounding underwater beauty. Climate change threatens to destroy this beautiful environment and along with it, the livelihoods of many Maldivians.

“This project aims to address ways in which the Maldives and especially its tourism industry can minimize its vulnerability to climate change,” she said.

“This project will contribute to the government’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2020, and will support the integration of adjustment measures which need to be implemented in response to climatic changes into development policies, plans, programs, projects and actions.”

Following consultations throughout the rest of this year, the first wave of projects is expected to begin in early 2012.

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Visit to Fares-Maathoda shows challenge of decentralised development

In the final part of a special report from the island of Fares-Maathoda, Minivan News looks at the challenges for communities developing beyond Male’s glance as they attempt to switch to decentralised governance and overcome their natural vulnerabilities.

Sitting in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, the conjoined landmasses making up the island of Fares-Maathoda present an environment that has seen little of the economic and infrastructure changes witnessed in the population hubs in North Male’ atoll.

Yet like everywhere else in the Maldives, the formation of island and Atoll councils following nationwide local elections in February 2011 has raised new challenges to bring about change on a more decentralised basis.

However, some opposition politicians believe that the government was “not fully prepared” in its plans to devolve power locally, and that has caused friction between the government and local councils over what exactly their roles and responsibilities are in relation to overseeing potential changes.

For the residents of Fares-Maathoda and the five-member council elected to serve them, these changes include a proposal to use aid funds from Denmark to try and offset continued flooding resulting from drainage and waste management issues as part of wider development aims.

Ibarahim Shareef, spokesperson and deputy leader for the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) told Minivan News that he believed a combination of a lack of experience among elected councillors and obstruction by central government was limiting the roles of individually elected councils to oversee and deal with projects such as development.

“There is disagreement over the role of councils and what duties are being issued to them. Our country is disintegrating around us,” Shareef claimed, accepting that divisions between the present and previous leaderships of his own party had added to the partisan atmosphere of the country’s political backdrop.

“We should get all the parties including the government and opposition groups to stick together and try and resolve the differences like this issue.”

Speaking earlier this month during a visit to Fares-Maathoda, two islands that were linked together in the 1990s by reclaiming area between them – a move that exacerbated flooding problems – UN Resident Coordinator Andrew Cox said he believed that environmental and development facing the country required cooperation from all stakeholders in light of decentralised government.

“What seems to be the case at the moment is that the decentralised structures [island and Atoll councils] are developing and that’s fine. But what that means at the moment is that until things become clearer in some of the areas where we need to work, we need to stay closely connected with everybody. Yet we appreciate the need for strong coordination,” he said.

“In the end, you need the right environment if you are going to attract large-scale funding. In actual fact for the money to come to the Maldives there needs to be a favourable environment for that and even more so there needs to be a good investment environment, because that’s the way that you are going to do large-scale projects.”

Cox was on Fares-Maathoda alongside representatives from the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, the Ministry of Housing and Environment, the National Office and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) to meet with local councillors and outline how Danish donor aid for funding climate change adaptation would be allocated on the island.

Pointing to a sea-wall development riddled with flags, displaying the yellow of the MDP on one side and the blue of the DRP on the other, Cox suggested that was a powerful reflection of the country’s partisan political functioning and the challenges it created for decentralising aid distribution.

“You have the blue on one side and the yellow on the right, which typifies the Maldives more than anything else,” he added.

However, Cox claimed that rather than acting as a test for the viability of other collaborations with recently appointed local councillors in delivering aid, Fares-Maathoda represented the need for “development best practice” and how best to try and mitigate detrimental environment and economic factors over partisan thinking.

“In the end, people involved in a project need to be involved in its decision making. That’s the bottom line, so frankly I think if you succeed, you succeed and it’s good for development and everyone who is involved can take credit,” he said. “But if you fail, it’s important to know why you failed. Then you try and reflect that back when you expand an approach outwards than you better find a way of taken advantage of that knowledge and understanding and don’t do it again.”

However, Ibarahim Shareef said he believed that in opting to decentralise power following February’s elections, President Mohamed Nasheed and his fellow MDP members had been “shocked” by the number of island councils seats that fell to opposition parties like the DRP.

Shareef claimed that he believed the government was now aiming to try and centralise power in an apparent reversal of its original intentions.

“Local people have been in a long struggle for democracy, yet some are now questioning the wisdom of supporting democratic reform,” he said. “They have not got empowerment at the level they expected.”

Shareef said that despite these uncertainties regarding the exact role of local councils, everyone involved in the process of decentralisation needed to work together to set out what powers councillors did and did not have in order to function properly.

“It is in everyone’s interests to ensure they are working properly,” he claimed.

In a bid to try and help coordinate the development projects undertaken by local councils such as those bought forward by UN aid, the President’s Office announced the formation of seven national offices back in March that it claimed were not related between some isolated disputes with local councils.

Speaking from Fares-Maathoda during the UN visit, Mohamed Shareef, Deputy Minister of State for the Upper South Province national office, claimed that government coordination remained vital to ensure all councillors are sufficiently trained to oversee development and aid in the future.

Speaking to Minivan News, Mohamed Shareef said he believed that criticism of the national offices stemmed from incorrect presumptions that the government was acting against its own decentralisation plans by giving the president more power over the country.

To try and offset these criticisms the national office has said it is offering training programmes across the country in places like Thinadoo and Addu City that aim to provide information to councillors and outline their responsibilities.

“Councillors have come from many different walks of life, but many haven’t been in administration or management, so they are very new to these procedures and understanding them,” said Shareef. “They keep saying that there are no procedures, but it is just a matter of understanding what the procedures are. So we have to keep on running training programmes. The government has a very extensive programme to try and make the councillors and the public aware of the system.”

With the councils now in place, Shareef said that these training programmes would be vital to try and ensure the success of decentralisation. However, he accepted that there was a notable difference of opinion between whether more details and information should have been given to candidates and the public before electing councillors or whether the system should be fleshed out afterwards.

Despite criticisms that more education for the public and councillors on the exact purpose of decentralisation in the Maldives should have been in place before voting began, the national office claimed that it believed the best way – as has happened – was to start the programme and learn along the way.

“I think if we had earlier tried to make people understand what [the government] were trying to do, it would have been a difficult process. On the other hand, if you have bought the system and make everyone learn by experience it might have been easier for us – it could be debated either way,” Shareef said. “We were in need of immediate change that was for sure. So we wanted a change to be implemented and it was done very quick.”

In terms of main challenges facing national offices like those in the Upper South Province, Shareef said that the cost of running five member councils across the country was definately a concern.

“We have a very poor income and the country is very small in terms of people and resources. We can discover new resources in terms of tourism but the challenge lies in the expense of bring about these changes [local councils]. It is an expensive process.”

Shareef claimed that the national councils would ultimately like to see more responsibility being taken by local councillors in dealing directly with donor agencies such as the UN over development and aid projects, while it held a light coordination role in instead.

“This would allow the direct impact [of these funds] to be felt more closely by the councils. Otherwise we should have a major role. It’s not very easy for the government agencies,” he said. “In terms of being more responsible, I think the councils can very much have a role in making the maximum use of aid coming in.”

Mohamed Shareef added that the belief of the national councils was that training projects would be at the heart of granting more development roles to local councillors in the future.

“The vision of the government is that we are going to have a very big leap in terms of development by having decentralisation. So the councils need to be very responsible and capable if they want to take up these challenges,” he said. “It all depends on how capable the councils are. In one way it’s a big relief for the government that there are councils and governors who are interested in dealing with them. For the government, it doesn’t make it very easy, but it’s the way they want to go forward I guess.”

Ultimately, Shareef said that the main plan in the long-term for each council would be to have them become more technical and development orientated rather than trying to serve a particular party political interest.
“That was the stand with which the councils came into their position, but still we have some way to go to get the councils to realise they are a technical and development body and not a political body.”

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NGO aid overdependence may hamper effective national development, says UN coordinator

The high number of NGOs operating in the Maldives dependent on foreign aid may be setting back effective development in areas such as health and human rights, according to UN Resident Coordinator Andrew Cox.

At the launch of a new wave of UN joint funding, Cox told Minivan News that he believed current numbers of Maldivian NGOs “could not be sustained” with about 700 such organisations registered within the country.

Cox claimed that the funding unveiled today was being supplied in an attempt to steer future aid projects into specific areas of interest in the community where NGOs could effectively support and maintain themselves to benefit local people in the long-term.

A total of nine grants, which are jointly funded by the UN (UNDP) Development Project and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), were today unveiled as part of the first of three batches of funding to support projects by NGOs and civil society organisation (CSOs).

The projects, which range in budget and duration from four to eight months, are aimed at encompassing issues such as human rights, governance, rights-based developments and gender equality, according to the UNDP.

Although not related directly to this weekend’s council elections in terms of timing, Cox said that the focus of the local elections to transfer a strong amount of governing responsibility to islands and atolls away from Male’ tied into the grants’ intended purpose of steering country-wide developments.

“The point of today is we can see that civil society organisations and NGOs can play a major role in bringing meaning to this transfer of power from the centre to the local level. Obviously that is not going to happen on every island or even every atoll,” he said.

“But community organisations; working with some of the most disadvantaged and trying to give them poise is a key part of what local democracy is about. What I really want to see coming out of these grants and the ones which come along in the future is more of the same kind of thing.”

Grant beneficiaries

The list of beneficiaries of these grants includes:

• Take Care Addu; received US$20,514.98 to try empowering NGOs to protect and promote human rights on Seenu Atoll and Fuahmulah for seven months

• Maldivian Democracy Network; received 18,815 to monitor political violence for the first local council elections over four months

• Maldives Deaf Association – in collaboration with Care Society; 24,928 over eight months to help create awareness of the United Nation’s convention on rights of people with disabilities

• Raajje Foundation Maldives; US$20,980 on a six month project looking at civil society and democracy to be implemented in two atolls

• Maldives Civil Servants Association (MCA); provided US$21,151 for funding five month projects in Male’ and other atolls

• CHOCO; US$18,400 for six months development of a “masterplan” for Huvadhoo Atoll

• Lhohee Zuvaanunge Club; received US$15,347 for the raising of public awareness of local governance and empowering women in Noonu Atoll

• Billedhoo School Isdharivarunge Jammiyya; provided US$15,634 for protection of women’s rights and their role in political and social spheres for a four month project

• HIRIYA; US$14,340 for a four month project aiming to strengthen the role of women youth leaders

According to Cox, the projects, which were selected by the UNDP’s own Grants Gommittee were geographically focused to try and benefit as wide a group of people as possible.

In terms of monitoring the aid, Cox said that the grants committee had focused on trying to find key long-term areas that future funding could efficiently support in the country without depending on continued foreign aid.

“The applying organisations had to show that this is a way of not just blowing off some cash, but that this might strengthen things in the area they are focusing on,” he said. “We’ll have to see how it goes, but if we see some useful trends coming out of this we will try and steer the remainder of resources towards this.”

When asked whether potential suspicion from some people or groups over the motives of international bodies such as the UN and AusAID in supplying financial aid was a problem, Cox claimed that he had not heard of any such criticisms of the Society Development Project funding.

In addressing prominent concerns in supplying the funding, the UN Resident Coordinator said that ensuring long-term benefits from the aid packages was particularly important due to the high number of NGOs currently operating in the country, which he claimed could not be sustained on current national levels of financial resources.

“In the long run, especially in a country like the Maldives, you can’t have NGOs that are dependent on international funding because it won’t continue forever,” he said. “So the idea of projects like this, at least in theory, is that you can provide funding for very particular activities and you hope that the resources that provides allows for professionalization to help develop stronger management structures.”

One possible solution to concerns over an over dependency on foreign aid according to Cox could be the emergence of a number of “champion” or strong NGOs focusing on a number of “key issues” like reproductive health, drugs and human rights.

“One of the things we try and push NGOs to do – which can be a difficult sell – is to look to their own communities and the people who support them to find the reasons they exist and find ways that resources can be mobilised nationally and locally,” he said. “On a secondary level, you need a number of organisations to hold the government accountable, it happens in the UK, it happens in Sri Lanka and slowly it is happening here.”

In practice though, Cox said that such changes were beginning to be seen in the Maldives, but added that they would still take some time to develop.

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Hulhumale door-knocking reveals lack of awareness of constitution

Preliminary findings from the ‘Did you Know’ door-knocking campaign have revealed that half the 500 homes in Hulhumale visited by the volunteers were unaware that the Maldives had a new constitution, let alone what it contained.

The UNDP-run campaign, which launched on November 26, is an attempt to address a lack of public awareness into how the judicial system works – a critical problem for the development and promotion of human rights in the Maldives, according to the UN body.

One component is the ‘Did you Know?’ campaign, involving a team of 27 volunteers door-knocking around Male’, Hulhumale’ and Villingili explaining rights and distributing brochures.

“I found it was women who were the most disinterested, and I think more so among the older generation,” UNDP National Project Manager Naaz Aminath told Minivan News, after knocking on the doors of 500 houses in Hulhumale.

“But they would sit there and listen, particularly to subjects such as employment rights, and the right to a pension. One mother said she’d never heard of the constitution, but we asked her if she worked and talked about her employment rights, which she said was really useful.”

Only about 20 of the 500 homes approached in Hulhumale’ were unwilling to invite the volunteers in, Naaz noted.

“In those instances we left a pamphlet. But mainly people were very welcoming, even though they were busy doing things like cooking and minding children. We were often invited in for a drink.”

Many men showed awareness of their rights, but felt that getting involved in understanding the constitution meant getting into politics “and said they did not want to get involved. But they generally did listen,” Naaz said.

Glimpses into the private lives of so many homes was confronting for some of the volunteers – “We came across other issues – in one house a victim of domestic violence broke down in tears when we walked in. We can’t fix everything [with this project], but we can provide directions on how to contact authorities.”

The consensus after the Hulhumale’ campaign was that while households had an awareness of the new constitution gleamed through television, “there’s a difference between being aware of it and knowing what’s in it.”

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Average Maldivian citizen has 4.7 years of education, finds UN Human Development Report

Education in the Maldives is generally behind regional neighbours such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, despite an 18 percent increase in the average number of years spent at school between 1990 and 2010.

The average Maldivian citizen had 4.7 years of schooling in 2010, compared with 3.9 years in 2005, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP’s) 2010 Human Development Report. This was almost a third of the country’s ‘expected level of schooling’ of 12.4 years.

Despite the recent improvement, the Maldives remains behind Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in terms of average schooling, which were ranked at 4.8 and 8.2 years respectively. UK and US students spend on average 9.5 and 12.4 years of their lives in education by comparison, according to the report’s findings.

The overall findings compiled by UNDP painted a mixed picture for human development in the Maldives, with a comparatively high life expectancy of 72.3 contrasting with concerns over education and gender equality in the country.

For 2010, the Maldives was ranked 107 out of 160 nations under the UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI), which is used to measure long-term national achievements in providing citizens with “a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of life.” The Maldives has climbed four places since 2005.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed said that failure to the current failure obtain parliamentary approval for cabinet members would not be a long term setback to the country’s development aspirations though.

“Development and democracy goals are generally accepted by all parties, but clearly there are difficulties,” he said. “I don’t believe the [cabinet controversy] will seriously affect the long-term human development objectives of this or a future government.”

Despite praising an increase in average life expectancy of six years in the last decade, Dr Waheed raised concerns over inequality across the nation’s atolls, particularly among women in terms of both education and politics.

“Women are not contesting in elections as much as we had hoped,” he said. “We hope February’s council elections will see much higher numbers [of female candidates].”

Dr Waheed claimed that in areas such as poverty reduction, the Maldives was doing “quite well”, though he added that economic recession in the last few years had been a setback to these goals.

UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative Andrew Cox said he agreed with the Vice President’s view of the report. Cox added that the latest UNDP figures showed the Maldives’ HDI was generally above the regional average for South Asia.

Report Findings

Posting an average life expectancy rate of 72.3 years of age, the Maldives was found to be ahead of other nearby nations such as Bangladesh (66.9 years) and Thailand (69.3 years), though behind Sri Lanka (74.4 years). Western nations like the UK and the US recorded average life expectancy rates of 79.8 and 79.6 years of age respectively.

In the area of gender equality, the report used a new index system that looked at a number of specific factors such as reproductive health, the gender share of parliamentary seats and educational achievements and economic activity to identify the possible disadvantages to women in a nation.

Using this Gender Inequality Index (GII), the Maldives was ranked 58 out of 138 countries based on data supplied from 2008. By comparison, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were ranked 72 and 116 respectively under the same conditions.

In terms of education, 31 per cent of Maldivian females had obtained a secondary or higher level of education as opposed to 37 percent of Maldivian men. In addition, female participation in the labour market was found to stand at 58 percent, compared to 77 percent among males. Unemployment was 14.4 percent.

The report found that 23.5 of every 100 citizens had access to the internet.

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Prison officers trained in human rights

Seventeen Maafushi prison officers have completed a human rights training programme designed to increase their awareness of the Constitution and the rights guaranteed by it.

The “Human Rights and Constitution Training for Prison Staff” was a project organised by the UNDP in conjunction with relevant state organisations.

UNDP Resident Coordinator Andrew Cox told graduates at the closing ceremony held in Maafushi today that their training would help ensure that prisons are “not just a dead end” but another step towards rehabilitation and reform of prisoners.

The training provided to prison officers was also a further achievement in ensuring that rights guaranteed under Article 2 of the Constitution are integrated throughout the entire judicial process.

Minister of Home Affairs Mohamed Shihab told the gathering that such training was essential for those engaged in such a high-pressure and high-risk profession as that of the prison officers. There have been occasions, he noted, when the repercussions of rapid decisions taken by prison officers working under pressure had been felt nation wide.

Addressing the ceremony on behalf of all participants, Trainee Prison Officer Abdul Qadir Ibrahim said the training had made them all aware that “the Constitution is as essential to life as water”.

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US$150,000 allocated by UNDP for community based projects in 2010

US$150,000 has been allocated by the UNDP for community based projects in 2010 delivering biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, protection of international waters, prevention of land degradation and elimination of persistent organic pollutants. The amount will increase to US$200,000 in 2011.

The programme will help more vulnerable areas and communities to overcome local environmental problems, says UNDP Resident Representative Andrew Cox.

Community based organisations, NGOs, small businesses, youth groups and academic and scientific groups are invited to make proposals, which must be in line with the Country Programme Strategy developed for Maldives.

Despite a maximum of US$50,000 being allocated for projects for up to 24 months, most applications are expected to be for lower amounts. Planning grants of up to US$2,000 may be issued to enable people and groups to develop proposals that serve as precursors for full scale projects.

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