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Civil servants in Maldives receive human rights training

7 May 2008

Participants offer recommendations of ways to incorporate human rights practices into more areas of their work

Introducing human rights to school education syllabuses was one of the key recommendations which emerged from three days of discussions in Maldives between 30 March and 1 April 2008.

Recruitment procedures in the country's civil service and all job descriptions should incorporate human rights principles, according to the 28 civil servants who attended the event.

The participants, who met in Malé, the country's capital, felt that an official code of conduct for civil servants, as well as a focal point for the implementation of human rights within civil service departments, should also be introduced. Those present also wanted to see human rights included in specific training programmes for civil servants.

These recommendations were the result of a workshop held at the request of the Maldives Government, which aimed to introduce civil servants to human rights informed practice in their own work. The workshop was officially opened by Thasmeen Ali, the Minister of Atolls Development in Maldives.

The three-day event - organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat - examined international human rights standards, with an emphasis on how these standards translate into the domestic context as well as the day-to-day work of civil servants within the various departments.

During the workshop training methods included group activities, role play and interactive dialogue within groups, covering human rights practice in areas ranging from social policy to the environment, criminal justice and the judicial system.

"This training is an important step towards the development of human rights informed policies and practices which should seek to make a significant difference for the people of Maldives," said Dr Purna Sen, Head of Human Rights at the Secretariat.

The participants, who work across all government departments in Maldives, were introduced to United Nations treaties such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 1948. Commonwealth Declarations were also discussed during the training, including the Harare Declaration of 1991, which addresses the Commonwealth's fundamental values.

Another issue raised during discussions - which directly relates to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women - was the treatment of women, particularly regarding the lack of equal rights with men in the family and with regard to divorce.

At the end of the training Dr Mohamed Latheef, Chairperson of the Civil Service Commission of Maldives, said that he would like the Secretariat to conduct further training of senior civil servants and permanent secretaries once all of the posts had been filled following the introduction of the new Civil Service Act.

This new Act, which will see the Civil Service Commission become independent from the government, is expected to be fully operational in Maldives by May 2008 and is "a reform that has sweeping implications across the board," according to Dr Latheef.