New regulation to be formulated to help human trafficking victims

Defense Minister Mariya had stated that the government was working on formulating a victim’s assistance and shelter service regulation in order to ensure the safety of human trafficking victims.

Minister Mariya announced this in a statement made on the occasion of ‘World Day Against Trafficking in Persons 2021’.

The statement read that human trafficking is an atrocity that is a violation of human rights – highlighting that protecting the vulnerable victims of human trafficking is a cause of utmost priority for the current administration.

In line with this, the Minister outlined the efforts currently underway by this administration to combat human trafficking – noting the formulation of a victim’s assistance and shelter service regulation in addition to the formulation of a communication strategy against human trafficking.

She also acknowledged the administration’s efforts to combat human trafficking despite the challenges posed by the pandemic – noting the establish of an Anti-Trafficking in Persons (Anti-TIP) Office; the allocation of funds from the state budget for the TIP Office and the National Action Plan (NAP) to improve anti-trafficking activities for the very first time; ratification of the Maldives Anti-Human Trafficking Act to align the definition of human trafficking with that of the 2000 UN TIP Protocol; and the establishment of a victim shelter.

Minister Mariya also noted that Maldives has been upgraded to Tier 2 in the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report 2021, after remaining on the Tier 2 Watch List for three consecutive years, this year.