| For a summary of Maldive’s review at the first cycle please click here. |
22nd UPR session
Date of review: 6 May 2015
Date of report adoption: 13 July 2015
Document number: A/HRC/30/8
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SUMMARY SOGIESC issues during Maldives’s 2nd UPR review |
I. SOGIESC issues/recommendations identified by NGOs
Right to privacy
43. While noting that Maldives rejected all previous UPR recommendations related to sexual orientation and gender identity, CHRI made recommendations, including that the Government work towards de-criminalising same-sex sexual conduct by initially establishing a moratorium on prosecutions.
II. Excerpts on SOGIESC issues from the national report
No references.
III. Excerpts on SOGIESC issues by UN agencies
Equality and non-discrimination
20. HR Committee recommended that Maldives: accelerate the enactment of the antidiscrimination legislation under consideration by the Parliament, and ensure it includes a prohibition of discrimination on the basis on sexual orientation; and combat the stigmatization and marginalization of homosexuals in society. Reporting that individuals suspected or perceived as homosexuals or transgender faced intimidation and overt threats, UNFPA recommended that Maldives ensure protection from human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity, including through law reform to prevent hate crimes, as well as sensitization of judiciary, policy, health and other service providers.
Right to privacy, marriage and family life
42. HR Committee recommended that Maldives decriminalize sexual relations between consenting adults of the same sex.
Right to health
51. UNFPA […] recommended that Maldives promote family planning and contraception through public health outreach and other means; remove condoms from the Schedule 3 drugs list; promote choice between a broader range of contraceptive methods, especially for remote islands; and investigate and address barriers for access to family planning, in particular those experienced by adolescents and youth, unmarried women and marginalized and excluded population groups such as persons with disabilities, LGBT, sex workers, etc.
IV. References to SOGIESC issues during the Working Group review
11. Maldives had been a Muslim country for 800 years. Its social framework and historic and traditional values, which had evolved over the decades, were intimately linked to Islamic practices. Islamic values were part of the national identity and heritage, and formed the basis of the Constitution and all Maldivian laws. Calls to introduce values and practices that were contrary to the values of Islam, such as non-traditional forms of families and those related to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, would not be entertained by the people of Maldives. The basic belief in Islam as an integral part of the Maldivian identity would not change, although the country continued to allow non-Maldivians to practice their own faith in private.
V. Conclusions and/or recommendations
Maldives noted the following recommendations:
144.6 Speed up the adoption of the law against discrimination ensuring the incorporation of a prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity (Chile);
144.7 Guarantee that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons have full and equal enjoyment of their human rights by repealing the norms that criminalize and stigmatize them (Argentina).
VI. Further information
You will find all documents relating to Maldives’s second review at UPR-Info and OHCHR’s websites.