Transitional Justice Bill forwarded to Human Rights Committee

The Transitional Justice Bill – a legislature which the Maldivian government promises will redress systematic abuses which have taken place in the Maldives over the past seven years – has been forwarded to the Human Rights and Gender Committee.

The bill was presented to the Parliament on October 28 by Hithadhoo MP Mohamed Rasheed and was voted for by 68 MPs. Only three MPs voted against the bill.

The bill is designed to provide a legal framework to remedy significant cases of systematic human, civil and political rights violations suffered by Maldivian citizens in the hands of either a state institution or senior state officials from January 1, 2012, to November 17, 2018.

The objectives which the bill aims to achieve are listed as; establishing peace within the community, working towards communal harmony, maintaining national peace and stability, accommodate for civic stability, foster a state based on the rule of law, and facilitate justice for citizens. The bill also proposed an ombudsman’s office to be established to achieve the objectives.

Establishing transitional justice had been one of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s electoral pledges; something which he promised to fulfill within the first two years of his presidency.