Foreign Secretary meets the Chair-Rapporteur of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
Foreign Secretary, His Excellency Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed today met with the Chair-Rapporteur of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Ms. Elina Steinerte. The Chair-Rapporteur is currently undertaking a country visit to the Maldives from 29 November to 10 December 2021.
During the meeting held this morning, the Foreign Secretary welcomed the Working Group to the Maldives and expressed gratitude for accepting the Government’s Standing Invitation. The Chair-Rapporteur took positive note of the fact that the Maldives has made remarkable progress to promote and protect human rights and briefed the Foreign Secretary concerning issues regarding the Working Group’s mandate on arbitrary detention. The Foreign Secretary reiterated the commitment of the Government to fully cooperate with the Working Group and assured the Chair-Rapporteur that the Maldives will welcome the recommendations of the Working Group and work closely to implement them.
The Working Group will share their preliminary observations at a press conference on 9 December 2021. The Working Group will present its final report on this visit to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2022.
Foreign Secretary was accompanied by Ahmed Shiaan, Additional Secretary, Mariyam Reesha, Director-General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Aseel Hassan, Legal Counsel at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Adam Hamid, Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The working group comprised of Ms. Leigh TOOMEY, Member of WGAD, Ms. Priya Gopalan, Member of WGAD Ms. Lucie VIERSMA, Member of WGAD Ms. Margarita NECHAEVA, Human Rights Officer The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is a Special Procedures mandate-holder of the UN Human Rights Council, established by the former Commission on Human Rights in 1991 to investigate instances of alleged arbitrary deprivation of liberty. The mandate of the Working Group has been extended by the Commission to cover the issue of administrative custody of asylum-seekers and immigrants.