The parliamentary motion to dismiss the incumbent members of the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has been sent for committee review.
The Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Gender initiated the dismissal motion of all incumbent members of HRCM, citing their failure to fulfill their responsibilities in protecting basic human rights of vulnerable communities. Announcing the initiation of the dismissal motion, Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed stated the motion has now been sent for committee review.
The report submitted by the human rights committee highlighted the failure of HRCM to take any action or even publish a statement after several people were dismissed from their jobs amid the COVID-19 crisis. The report also highlighted the failure of HRCM in observing the conditions of people under state care, noting the commission had not conducted any visits to prisons or state care facilities before the parliament committee submitted a request to clarify actions taken by the commission.
Parliament regulations state motions to dismiss members of independent institutions must be announced by the speaker and sent for committee review without further deliberations. The investigation will be carried out during the review stage by the relevant parliament committee.
The incumbent members of HRCM are Aminath Eenas, Mohamed Zahid, Moosa Ali Kaleyfaan, Naiveen Abdulla and Aishath Afreen Mohamed.