The government has stated that the UN Human Rights report on Maldives was the result of planned efforts by former President Mohamed Nasheed’s government to ensure a particular outcome.
Spokesperson of the President’s Office Abbas Adil Riza said that the UN Human Rights reports on Maldives for 2010 and 2011 were based on reports sent by the former government, and stated that the current government will prepare a full response to these report.
He highlighted that the Maldives’ participation in the Convention on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) is such that its implementation does not contradict with the laws and religion of the Maldives.
He said that the UN had never before issued such a statement on the Maldives, and condemned the provision of this information by former President Nasheed’s government to the UN, and described it as a betrayal to the Maldivian people.
The UN report highlighted three main points, including the lack of religious freedom, the constitution of a commission to probe the activities of the government prior to 2008, and the lack of freedom of sexual orientation in the Maldives.
“We will, in our response to the UN, explain what’s possible and not possible in the Maldives based on the country’s rules and regulations. The UN is not an organisation which encourages countries to enforce things they do not wish to enforce. This is the result of the former government’s efforts to mould the UN’s point of view a certain way,” he said.
The UN had also urged the Maldives to abolish the death penalty, and expressed concern over judicial independence in the Maldives.