Maldives firmly has responded to the Joint Statement delivered by United Kingdom on behalf of primarily the European Union and other Western countries at the 37th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council held in Geneva. The Right to Reply from the Maldives in response to the Joint Statement was delivered at the Council by Permanent Representative of Maldives to the United Nations Office in Geneva Dr. Hala Hameed.
In her statement, Permanent Representative of Maldives to the United Nations Office in Geneva Dr. Hala Hameed described the joint statement as unwarranted and unconstructive and further elaborated on the issue of corruption at the highest levels of the Supreme Court and that the declaration of 1st February was primarily because the Bench of the Supreme Court was beyond any measure of Constitutional accountability. The Maldivian top diplomat in Geneva underlined the concerns regarding the Supreme Court was first raised in the report of the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, who conducted a visit to the Maldives in 2013, and added at that time United Kingdom and the European Union, supported the conclusions of that report.
Furthermore, the Maldivian Permanent Representative made a reference to the OHCHR statement released on May 2015 and stated it had then referred to the judiciary to be politicised, inadequate and subject to external influence. Dr. Hala Hameed also pointed out the factual inaccuracies in the joint statement in response to the assertion made on Maldives non-engagement with High Commissioner's Office or the Council's mechanisms. In this regard, Dr. Hala stated in the past four years, Maldives had hosted six visits by the High Commissioner's Office including a recent visit by senior officials less than three weeks ago, during the State of Emergency.
The Permanent Representative added the Maldives has also submitted no fewer than nine communications to the various mechanisms of the Council in the past three years and hosted a total of seven special procedures mandate holders, with discussions on-going for future visits of two Special Rapporteurs in 2018.
Acknowledging that much work is required for the Maldives to strengthen its democratic institutions, to enhance capacity and to foster a culture of respect for human dignity and liberty, Hala stated that it would be completely unfair to judge Maldives against the standards as envisaged by the United Kingdom and the European Union, and as practiced in those countries. She concluded the statement emphasising the readiness of the Maldives to engage in constructive dialogue with OHCHR and the various mechanisms of the Council.