Parliament approves Shamoon for HRCM seat

The Parliament has approved the appointment of Shamoon Hameed as a member of the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM).

The resolution was passed with a unanimous vote of 57 members.

The President had forwarded names for appointment to the HRCM as the term of Samaau Ahmed Najeeb, a current member of the Commission, nears expiry. The names sent were Shamoon Hameed and Samaau.

The Parliament’s Human Rights Committee interviewed both candidates, with Shamoon receiving the highest marks in the committee’s report.

Shamoon received 92 marks, while Samaau received 86 marks.

According to the committee report, marks are awarded across eight criteria, including education and experience. A total of 15 marks are allocated for demonstrated experience and relevance to the responsibilities of the position.

During the debate on the report, Vaikaradhoo MP Hussain Ziyad (Fittey) highlighted that the candidate who scored 92 marks held a Master’s in Music, while the candidate who scored 86 marks had studied Human Rights Law. He alleged that the committee’s scoring may have been influenced by the order in which the names were sent by the President.

“When the marks were given, it is unfortunate that the education and music in the field related to the position and the Human Rights Law were equal to or higher than the Human Rights Law,” Ziyad said.

Responding to the allegations, Majority Leader Ibrahim Falah said the committee allocates 20 percent of the marks to education achieved in the relevant field. Even if a candidate receives the full 20 percent, he said, marks may still be lower in other areas.

Shamoon, who has now been approved as a member of the HRCM, is an experienced official who has previously served as Permanent Secretary of the Heritage Ministry and Secretary General of the HRCM.