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Maldives Elected to Human Rights Council
May 21, 2010
By: Benjamin Russell | Printer Friendly

The Maldives was elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), marking the first time the country has won a seat for a major UN body. The island nation received more votes than any of the other 13 new members, and headed a list of countries from the UN’s Asia region that included Qatar, Thailand and Malaysia.

Though the vote was uncontested (there were four applicants for four seats in the Asian region following Iran’s withdrawal from consideration), the Maldives’ selection reflects dramatic changes that have taken place in the country since its first democratic election in 2008.  “The vote demonstrates the enormous respect for the Maldives, its government, its people, its national human rights institution, and the work that we have all been doing to strengthen the respect for human rights,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Ahmed Shaheed.

In addition to receiving near unanimous support from the UN’s General Assembly, a number of international NGO’s, including UN Watch and Freedom House, applauded the selection.  Freedom House counted the Maldives among only five new members whose “human rights records merit a seat in the Council.”  The UN also released a statement congratulating the country’s selection, saying it “demonstrates a high level of international confidence that the country will be able to play a strong leadership role in human rights.”

The Maldives’ democratic transition began in 2008 with the election of current president Mohammad Nasheed.  Nasheed replaced Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, whose 30 year reign over the country was marred by political repression, nepotism and corruption, according to Time Magazine.

"There was a catalog of human rights violations," says Abbas Faiz, a South Asia researcher for Amnesty International. "Authorities could detain anyone and treat them the way they wanted. Torture was widespread."

President Nasheed, who spent time in prison for criticizing Gayoom’s government, won the country’s first fair election in 2008 by a significant margin, prompting the former president to concede defeat and call for a peaceful transition of power.  Nasheed has since instituted a series of political reforms and pledged to consolidate the country’s nascent democracy.  He said he plans to hold a snap election midway through his 5-year term as president.
 

While Nasheed has been largely applauded by the international community, particularly for his vocal commitment to confronting global climate change, there is still room for improvement in the country’s human rights environment.  Freedom of religion, curtailed under Gayoom, is still significantly restricted and addressing its limits is a political third rail. 

The country’s constitution holds a provision that prevents non-Muslims from becoming citizens, and “indigenous cultural symbols and practices (including personal names) are forbidden,” according to Forum 18.

The country’s accession to the HRC will be “a very good opportunity for the government to realize [they have] to make necessary changes because the government also will have to act very positively now, there has to be room for improvement in the way the government reacts to human rights issues,” according to the President of the Human Rights Council of the Maldives.

Sources:

TIME - Maldives Rejects Leader in Election

Minivan News – Maldives Gets Highest Number of Votes for Human Rights Council

Forum 18 – Maldives: Reform Excludes Freedom of Religion or Belief