Ministry of Foreign Affairs has revealed the Maldives will hold several bilateral meetings advocating for its candidature to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the term 2023-2025.
In a statement, the foreign ministry said the meetings will be held by Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Shahid, who will also be leading the delegation from the Maldives at the High-level week of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The ministry highlighted several bilateral, plurilateral, and multilateral engagements are scheduled to be held during the high-level week of the UNGA. Minister Shahid will be accompanied by several high-level government officials during the engagements, including the Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology Aminath Shauna.
The elections for the UNHRC are set to be held in October 2022. The Maldives is competing with the Kyrgyz Republic, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Viet Nam, and South Korea for the four seats allocated to the Asia-Pacific Group. The Maldives was previously elected twice consecutively to the UNHRC from 2011-2016, during which international discourse was initiated on the link between climate change and human rights.
The General Assembly General Debate will be held from September 20-24. heads of state and government and heads of national delegations will deliver statements at the General Debate under the theme, A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges. Minister Shahid is scheduled to deliver his statement on September 23.
The high-level week will also see meetings and events centered on the Sustainable Development Goals, education, climate action, the situation in Ukraine, ending the COVID-19 pandemic, and on the elimination of nuclear weapons.