Dhunya: Stand up for political and civil liberties

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dhuya Maumoon has called out for all Maldivians to stand up for their political and civil liberties.

In Dhunya’s official statement on occasion of Human Rights Day, celebrated on December 10, she said former Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s reform agenda in 2004 had been the first clear roadmap towards securing individual liberties and freedoms for all Maldivians.

She noted that Maldives had since signed seven of the nine core international human rights treaties, and went on to serve two consecutive terms as an active member of United Nations

Human Rights Council and even served as the Council’s Vice Chair.

The former Foreign Minister said that the gains made by Maldives in advocating for human rights in the international community needed to be translated into solid progress domestically.

The theme for Human Rights Day 2016 is “stand up for someone’s rights”.

As such, Dhunya appealed to the Maldivian community to take further steps in protecting the rights of women and children, and the rights of people with disabilities. As well as guaranteeing fundamental rights such as freedom of speech and press freedom.

She noted that those were problem areas in Maldives.

“As today’s theme champions, we should stand up for the women who fall victim to violence; we should stand up for the vulnerable children who are the future of our country; we should stand up to the enormous challenges faced by people with disabilities; we should stand up in defense of the defenders of human rights; we should stand up for the rights enshrined in our

Constitution – especially the political and civil liberties that define the social fabric of our young democracy. As a nation, we should stand up for the rights of all Maldivians,” read her statement.

She wished success in the endeavors of the Maldivian government, Human Rights Commission of Maldives, and civil society.