Council of the European Union urged to freeze funds of human rights abusers in Maldives
The international chorus of concern over Maldives’ ongoing constitutional crisis has escalated into a full-blown appeal to have sanctions
Officers of the Maldives Police Service in riot gear lined up to disperse a demonstration of protesters in capital city Malé
The international chorus of concern over Maldives’ ongoing constitutional crisis escalated into a full-blown appeal to have sanctions imposed against local human rights abusers, with the release of an aptly-titled report called ‘Moving From Condemnation to Action’.
On Monday, Perseus Strategies LLC, known for its human rights projects, called on the Council of the European Union (EU) ‘human rights-based sanctions and travel bans; freeze funds on and restrict admission for said individuals.
The venture, run by former President Mohamed Nasheed’s lawyer Jared Genser, says the Maldives is a regional and global threat’. The report itself is exceptionally strong-worded, with direct statements to say that the government is guilty of manipulation and undercutting of the democratic process
“The Maldives poses a security risk to the world at large…the state of democracy and human rights is deteriorating rapidly. The time to act is now” the report reads.
In its 62-page ‘call for action’, Perseus Strategies argues that the Maldives is in violation of international treaties, namely the ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), that it is party to.
The report further lists and describes instances of human rights abuse in the Maldives, all of which President Abdulla Yameen is directly or indirectly named to have been involved with.
The report identifies four points of human rights abuse that have occurred in the Maldives in the past four years:
- Enforced Disappearances
- Arbitrary Arrest and Detention
- Torture and Other Cruel Treatment or Punishment
- The Death Penalty (Maldives Ending its Moratorium)
- Restrictions on Fundamental Rights and Freedoms
- Culture of Impunity (Selective Prosecution/Abusers Defended)
- Interference with 'Rule of Law' in the Maldives
Perseus Strategies also said that the Maldivian government poses a credible threat to the European Union and its foreign policy interests due to Maldives' inability to curb extremist ideologies, human rights abuses and undermining democracy, and being unstable while remainig geopolitically significant.
