President: Human rights cannot be protected by agreements alone

President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has said that protection of human rights and dignity cannot be guaranteed without hard work, simply by signing agreements.

The President made this remark in his speech at a ceremony at Dharubaaruge on Thursday to mark International Human Rights Day 2015.

He said that Maldives is a 100 percent Muslim country, which means that rights cannot be guaranteed as broadly as in first-world countries.

Adding that human rights agreements Maldives is a party to were signed with reservations, he said, “We have been criticised as a country that does not guarantee full human rights because our Constitution and laws do not allow same sex marriage, as allowed in the most liberal countries.”

He assured that the government strives to protect human rights as comprehensively as allowed in Islam.