Institutions must be fair to grant rights, says HRCM President

President of the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) Mariyam Azra has said that the state institutions must act fairly in order to grant the rights to the people.

Azra made the statement while speaking at an event to mark the International Human Rights Day, which also fell on the 10th anniversary of HRCM this year.

“All institutions must act fairly in order to remove the barriers which will enable us to realize the rights stated in the conventions to which Maldives is party,” Azra said.

The HRCM chief said that it is important for the Maldives to enact legislation adopting the many human rights conventions that it has signed and that the commission has been thoroughly monitoring the state’s degree of compliance with these conventions.

“Maldives is part of a number of human rights conventions. It is party to all major conventions except the convention on migrant workers. We believe that it is very important for these conventions to be adopted into law,” Azra said.

Highlighting the commission’s activities during the past 10 years, Azra said that the commission has focused on access to education for children with disabilities, in addition to efforts towards safeguarding the rights of the elderly and migrant workers.

Last night’s event was attended by a number of ministers and senior state officials. It was officiated by Minister of Education Dr Aishath Shiham.