Foreign Minister: Rights will be protected by empowering the people

Foreign Minister Dr. Mohamed Asim has said that the Maldives is promoting the human rights and assuring the rights through empowerment of the people and that is how the country took a step up in process.

In his address at the High Level Segment of the 34th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, Asim said that While the country is small, it does not prevent the Maldives from promoting the values and principles that underpin the international human rights mechanisms.

“The approach that the Maldives has taken in protecting human rights is through the empowerment of its people: creating opportunities; helping the people to help themselves lead dignified lives. It was this belief that helped to propel the Maldives to reach to a new paradigm of development -- human development -- that places the rights of the individual at the center of development. In 1971, the Maldives was one of the 20 poorest nations of the world. Today, the Maldives is a middle-income country with a per capita income over 8,000 US dollars.” Dr. Asim said.

The Foreign Minister said that President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom continues place great emphasis on human rights protection and promotion through human development. Providing free medical care to the entire population, providing free education to ensure that no child is left behind, and caring for the elderly and the vulnerable are some highly successful achievements of the government.

He said that the Maldives benefits greatly from the membership of the Council, and the close partnership with the UN human rights mechanism helped to consolidate democracy in the Maldives.

“The Council is uniquely placed to work with emerging democracies, such as the Maldives, to create opportunities for sharing of experiences and best practices. The Maldives believes that it can contribute in raising the voice and the profile of the Council and in the process, increase the credibility of the Council and the entire human rights protection mechanism of the UN system.” Foreign Minister Asim said.

Maldives has served at the Human Rights Council for two consecutive terms from 2011-2013 and 2014- 2016. Taking a mandatory break this year Maldives will be contesting for the membership for the year 2018-2020.

The 34th session of the UN Human Rights Council began today in Geneva, Switzerland, and will continue for 4 weeks, ending on 24 March 2017.

A special dinner would be hosted by the Maldives and Australia as a trust fund event tomorrow night for the countries taking part in the 34th session. And the Maldives would be sponsoring the high-level panel discussion on the discrimination of Thalassemia patients and human rights.