The majority of the case filed at the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) is related to the lack of health care offered to inmates serving prison sentences, the commission said on Tuesday.
Speaking on TVM, HRCM’s Senior Advocacy Officer Mohamed Shanoon said out of the total 637 human rights violations reported so far this year, 131 are related to the lack of health care offered to inmates serving prison sentences.
In addition, 99 cases of inhumane treatment and 52 cases related to prisoners other than medical care were reported, he said, adding that 22 cases related to social and economic rights have been reported.
According to Shanoon, 249 cases have been dismissed due to lack of grounds, while 222 out of the 388 that warrants further investigation have been completed. He added that budgetary constraints remain the greatest obstacle to investigating cases of human rights violations.
HRCM’s Senior Advocacy Officer Fathimath Ahmed said although raising awareness on human rights remains one of the key objectives, lack of funds have severely hindered such efforts of the commission.
"The commission gets a very small budget every year. We have to divide that budget into different areas. It is a big responsibility to raise awareness about human rights,” she said.
Despite the budgetary constraints, the HRCM has been tirelessly working to raise awareness, especially in schools and islands across the Maldives with the help of grants and other donations.