The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has briefed the government of Maldives as well as relevant stakeholders on the findings of their visit to Maldives.

The debriefing session held by the UN Working Group was chaired by Foreign Secretary Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed on Thursday.

The working group arrived in the Maldives on November 29 and is scheduled to depart on Thursday.

The session saw the Foreign Secretary thanking the UN Working Group for accepting the government’s standing invitation to visit the Maldives.

Elina Steinerte, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group extended gratitude to the Maldivian government for the invitation and especially for the cooperation provided to the team.

The final report of the working group on the visit will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2022.

Senior officials from the government, ministries and relevant stakeholders attended the session.

A Special Procedures mandate-holder of the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention was established by the former Commission on Human Rights in 1991 to investigate instances of alleged arbitrary deprivation of liberty.

Further, the working groups is mandated by the commission to cover the issues of administrative custody of asylum-seekers and immigrants.