Candidatures

Ongoing Candidatures

United Nations Security Council (UNSC) 2033-2034

The Republic of Maldives presented its candidature for a non-permanent seat of the United Nations Security Council, for the term 2033-2034, on 22 November 2022. The election is scheduled to be held during the eighty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2032.

Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) 2027-2029

The Republic of Maldives presented its candidature to the United Nations Economic and Social Council for the term 2027 – 2029, on 22 November 2022. The election is scheduled to be held during the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2026.

Completed Candidatures

Colombo Plan Secretary General, 2011-2015

Mr Adam Maniku served as the Secretary General of the Colombo Plan for the term 2011-2015.

The Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific was conceived at the Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in January 1950 and was launched on 1 July 1951 as a cooperative venture for the economic and social advancement of the peoples of South and Southeast Asia.

Membership of the Human Rights Council (HRC) 

HRC 2011-2013

The Maldives was elected to the Human Rights Council with 185 votes at the election which took place during the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, on 13 May 2010. At the time of election, Maldives was the smallest state to be elected to the Human Rights Council.

During its membership, women’s rights, children’s rights, environment and human rights, prevention of torture and disability were identified as its key priorities. As an advocate of Small Island Developing States and developing countries, the Maldives also concentrated on key discussions within the Human Rights Council such as technical assistance, strengthening of judicial and institutional mechanism domestically and internationally, institution building of the HRC and civil and political rights.

Women’s Rights: Given the importance attached to promoting the rights of Maldivian women and women around the world, the Maldives was a member of the core-group of countries which called for the creation of “Working Group on the Discrimination of Women in Law and in Practice”. This Working Group, since its creation in March 2011 had worked with the member states to identify laws and practices which discriminate against women. This Working Group enjoys broad support and assistance from Member States including Islamic States.

Children’s Rights: The Maldives was a lead negotiator of the Third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (on Communications Procedure). The Maldives was also one of the first signatories to the Optional Protocol and is undergoing its legislative process to facilitate early ratification of the Optional Protocol.

Human Rights and Environment: The Maldives also together with Costa Rica, Slovenia and Switzerland led the resolution to establish the Council’s first mandate holder on the wider question of human rights and environment – an Independent Expert on Human Rights & Environment. The Maldives believes that respect for human rights and environment is a cornerstone of sustainable development, and indeed a fourth of the world’s nations very survival depends on it. As a lead negotiator on Human Rights and Climate Change at the Council, the Maldives has continued to remain active in Council’s deliberations.

Technical Assistance: Observing that LDCs and SIDS are vastly underrepresented in the Council’s discourse, Maldives was convinced that the reason behind that absence is not that those countries lack interest or political commitment, but a genuine lack of technical assistance and resources to do so. In March 2012, along with brotherly Islamic States of Morocco and Senegal, and fellow small Island state, Mauritius, Maldives led the resolution creating a Trust Fund to assist SIDS and LDCs to participate in the HRC. This Trust Fund is intended to provide financing on the participation, funding for training and fellowships for junior and mid-level diplomats from LDCs and SIDS.

The Maldives also chairs an informal group known as “Friends of SIDS in UPR” which provide assistance to SIDS countries that do not have missions in Geneva, in their UPR presentation.

Civil & Political Rights: The Maldives membership of the Council coincided with important developments globally on democratic transitions and human rights promotion, namely the “Arab Spring”. The key method used by the demonstrators to a large extent, at least in the first phase, was peaceful demonstrations. Some countries chose to heed their calls, others chose to resort to brute force. Realizing the importance of the rights to peaceful assembly, Maldives together with brotherly Islamic States of Indonesia and Nigeria, and Czech Republic, Lithuania, Mexico, and USA, created the mandate of Special Rapporteur on the Right to Peaceful Assembly.

Maldives also created an informal group called “Article 4 Dialogue” which includes brotherly States such as Morocco and Turkey in its membership. Key objective of the group was to act as a bridge-builder to seek consensus in the polarizing debates in the Council. On several occasions A4D countries had managed to amicably solve heated debates in the Council on areas such as financing of the OHCHR.

HRC 2014-2016

The Maldives was re-elected to the Human Rights Council for a second term with 164 votes at the election which took place during the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, on 12 November 2013.

The Maldives, advocated for global efforts at increasing the resilience of SIDS, as well as emerging democracies, in bringing their national human rights mechanisms to international standards during its membership. Some important initiatives led and/or supported by the Maldives in this regard include:

The initiative to establish a Voluntary Fund at the Council aimed at supporting the participation of Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the work of the Council, which the Maldives led the creation of, during its first term;

Continue to chair of an informal group known as Friends of SIDS in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), to support the SIDS countries that do not have missions in Geneva to continue with their UPR presentation;

Continue its work on the initiative at the Council that led to the establishment of an Independent Expert on human rights and environment;

Continue its work on carrying out the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of assembly and association;

Continued to support the cooperative and state-driven nature of the Universal Periodic Report and its universality. The Maldives believes that this unique process is one of the most effective ways in promoting human rights for all.

HRC 2023-2025

The Maldives was elected to the Human Rights Council for a third term with 154 votes at the election which took place during the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, on 11 October 2023.

More information on current engagements at the Human Rights Council can be found here.

Membership of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT)

SPT 2011-2014

Justice Aisha Shujune Muhammad served on the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, for the term 2011-2014. She was elected during the 3rd meeting of States Parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture, in Geneva on 28 October 2010.

SPT 2015-2018

Justice Aisha Shujune Muhammad served on the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, for the term 2015-2018. She was elected during the 5th meeting of States Parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture, in Geneva on 23 October 2014.

SPT 2021-2024

Justice Aisha Shujune Muhammad is currently serving on the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture for the term 2021-2024. She was elected during the 8th meeting of States Parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture, in Geneva on 22 October 2020.

Executive Board of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) 2013-2015

The Maldives was elected by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and served a three-year term, from 2013 to 2015, on the Executive Board of UN-Women. During its tenure, the Maldives contributed towards strengthening the work of the organization.

The Maldives was represented at the UN Women Executive Board by the Permanent Mission of Maldives in New York.

Presidency of the 76th United Nations General Assembly (PGA) 2021-2022

Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid, served as the 76th President of the United Nations General Assembly.  He was elected with 143 votes at the election which took place during the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 7 June 2021.

This was the first time the Maldives was elected to head a main organ of the United Nations. It was also only the sixth time an individual from a Small Island Developing State was elected as the President of the United Nations General Assembly.

The theme of his Presidency was “A presidency of Hope: delivering for people, for the planet and for prosperity”

Further he prioritized the following themes, also known as his “five rays of hope”.

Recovering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
Rebuilding sustainably
Responding to the needs of the planet
Respecting the rights of all
Revitalizing the United Nations

Over the course of the Presidency, 15 High Level Meetings, 103 formal plenary meetings and 28 informal plenary meetings, hearings, thematic debates, and other events were held. A total of 307 resolutions and 140 decisions were adopted. Furthermore, 15 mandated intergovernmental negotiations processes took place and 27 co-facilitators or co-chairs were appointed for these processes.

Some achievements of the Presidency of Hope include:

• PGA’s Fellowship for HOPE: The PGA’s Fellowship for HOPE (Harnessing Opportunities for Promoting the Empowerment of Youth) was launched during the Presidency and brought 8 young diplomats from underrepresented countries at the United Nations to work in the PGA’s Office and their respective Permanent Missions and learn about multilateral engagement in the United Nations.
• Follow up to “Our Common Agenda”: General Assembly Resolution 76/6 mandated the President of the General Assembly to initiate a process of follow up which enables all Member States to consider the various proposals in the Secretary-General’s “Our Common Agenda” Report in collaboration with relevant institutions. Five thematic consultations, over 350 statements were delivered, 10 interactive multi-stakeholder panels were held, and over 50 panelists participated. All proposals in the Our Common Agenda report were accepted by Member States. Resolutions on establishing the Youth Office and on the Modalities of the Summit of the Future were also adopted.
• Lactation rooms were renovated and expanded to make the United Nations Secretariat Building more family friendly. This initiative was supported by the UN Department of Operational Support, and the Governments of El Salvador and New Zealand.
• High-Level Meeting on Delivering Climate Action – for People, for Planet and Prosperity: The meeting was held in the lead up to COP26 and focused on issues including keeping the 1.5 degrees target alive, identified gaps and bottlenecks and showcased ambitious climate action.
• Townhall with Civil Society Organizations: A townhall-style meeting was held with civil society representatives to discuss the priorities for the 76th session, ways in which civil society can be more involved in the work of the UN and the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• High-Level Thematic Debate: Galvanizing Momentum for Universal Vaccination: The debate considered the situation of vaccine supply, production and distribution, and the need for universal vaccination to effectively recover from COVID-19.
• High-level Thematic Debate on Tourism: This was the first time that tourism was ever discussed at a high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly. The debate considered how tourism can provide opportunities to a number of groups, the growth of sustainable tourism and the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism sector.
• High-level Thematic Debate entitled “Moment for Nature”: The debate focused on the interlinkages and synergies between the various environmental action tracks and presented solutions to the bottlenecks across these tracks.
• International Migration Review Forum: As mandated by General Assembly Resolution 73/195, the inaugural International Migration Review Forum was held and brought together Member States and civil society to assess the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and its relationship to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Progress Declaration was adopted by consensus.
• UNGA Platform for Women Leaders: In partnership with UN-Women, the UNGA Platform for Women Leaders was launched and institutionalized. Every year, female Heads of State and Government will meet during the high-level week of the General Assembly.

United Nations Security Council (UNSC) 2019-2020

The Maldives competed for membership to the United Nations Security Council, for the term 2019-2020, the election which took place during the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, on 8 June 2018.

The Maldives lost the election to Indonesia.