The People’s Majlis has approved the Transitional Justice Bill, with an amendment permitting investigations into the human rights violations by authority figures in the government and its related institutions, starting from 1953.

The bill was passed with 54 lawmakers voting in favour.

The government-endorsed bill was proposed by MP for Central Hithadhoo Constituency, Ahmed Rasheed, back in October 2019.

While it seeks to investigate acts of corruption and systematic violation of human rights that occurred between 1st January 2012 and 17th November 2018 and create regulations that will bring justice to the victims of those acts, parliament’s committee on human rights and gender’s report includes an amendment to investigate crimes starting from 1953 to 2018.

The committee made the decision after the input it received while seeking the public's opinion on the bill, and said that its purpose was “to attain justice for the human rights violations by a state institution or the head of an institution, from the first day since the country transformed into a republic”.

The Transitional Justice Bill specifically includes investigating acts of senior officials in state institutions that may have violated a human right, holding those perpetrators accountable, and compensating those victimized by these acts as well as identifying its root causes, revising regulations accordingly and taking preventative measures.

The legislation was drafted with the objective of maintaining peace and unity within society while establishing a progressive government that promotes civil societies.

It also proposes to establish an Ombudsman office and appoint three Ombudsmen of the president's choice.

The legislation will come into effect after the bill is published in the Government's Gazette.