User:Hassanmaldives

Recent Human Rights Developments in the Maldives
Human Rights Commission The Bill amending the Human Rights Commission Actto bring the Commission into line with the Paris Principleswas passed by Parliament on 9 August 2006 and ratifiedby the President on 17 August 2006. The Commission is now fully operational and is working with a range of bodies including the OHCHR, UNDP, other resident UN Agencies and theAssociation for the Prevention of Torture to build capacity.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICCPR
This Covenant - one of the two core international instruments guaranteeing human rights – was signed and acceded to by the Maldives on 19 September 2006. It officially entered into force in the Maldives three months later – on 19 December – meaning human rights in the Maldives are now protected by international law as well as by the Constitution. The Maldives must report to the UN Human Rights Committee in December 2007 on the status of implementation of the provisions contained in the ICCPR. At the same time as acceding to the ICCPR, the Maldives also signed the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR meaning citizens of the Maldives have the right to petition the Human Rights Committee directly if they fail to receive domestic redress.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
This Covenant – the other of the two core international instruments guaranteeing human rights – was signed and acceded to by the Maldives on 19 September 2006. It officially entered into force in the Maldives three months later – on 19 December. The Maldives must report to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in June 2008 on the status of implementation of the provisions contained in the ICESCR.

Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT)(seeWikipedia:OPCAT)
The OPCAT, which establishes the first ever international system of detention monitoring, was adopted by the United Nations on 18 December 2002 and formally entered into force, with the twentieth State ratification, on 22 June 2006. The Maldives was one of the 20 original members States of the OPCAT, having formally acceded to the instrument on 15 February 2006. The Maldives was the first country in Asia to ratify the Optional Protocol. The Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) held a workshop on implementation of the OPCAT in Male' in April 2007. In June 2007, the OPCAT Subcommittee announced that the Maldives had been chosen, by lot, to be one of the first four States Parties to receive the Subcommittee and to have its places of detention assessed. The visit is planned to take place in December 2007.

=== International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances(See:) === This Convention requires signatories to establish mechanisms to prevent enforced disappearance (e.g. details of detainees must be recorded, detainees must only be held in recognised places of detention, relatives must be informed and provided access, relevant national institutions such as human rights commissions should be provided visitation rights). On 6 February 2007, the Maldives became one of the original 57 State signatories of the Convention during a signing ceremony in Paris.

United Nations Convention against Corruption
On 22 March 2007, the Maldives acceded to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, with a view to strengthening Government efforts to fight corruption, ensuring that national legislation is compliant with international anti-corruption standards, and establishing mechanisms to prevent corruption at national, regional and international level. The Convention came into force in the Maldives on 21 April 2007.

Visits of UN human rights Special Rapporteurs
In April 2006, the Maldives extended an Open Invitation to all UN Special Procedures (independent UN experts covering thematic and country-specific human rights issues) to visit the country and report on developments. The Maldives is one of only 56 countries to have extended such an invitation. Since April 2006, the Special Rapportuer on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers have both visited the country. The former presented her Country Report to the Human Rights Council in March 2007; the latter presented his Report in June 2007. The Maldives is also in talks with the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression about an upcoming visit. (See Report submitted by Mr. Abdelfattah Amor, Special RapporteurSee:State Department Report)

OHCHR Human Rights Advisor
In late 2006, the Government of the Maldives invited the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to establish a permanent presence in the Maldives. In response, the OHCHR this week (15th July 2007) dispatched a Human Rights Advisor to work with the Maldives Government. The Human Rights Advisor will be tasked with helping the Government identify gaps in human rights protection and devise an Action Plan to address those gaps and bring the Maldives fully into line with its international human rights commitments, especially vis-à-vis the ICCPR and ICESCR.

OHCHR Regional Office for South Asia
In early 2007, the Maldives extended a formal expression of interest to the OHCHR to be the Host State of the mooted OHCHR Regional Office for South Asia. A decision in this regard is pending. (See:The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says the Maldives Government had taken a lot of reform initiatives to improve human rights safeguards)