The Parliament of the Maldives has voted to remove Vice President of the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) Mohamed Zahid from the commission.
The dismissal motion of Zahid was presented by the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Gender, after conducting an inquiry on the failure of HRCM members to fulfill their responsibilities in protecting basic human rights of vulnerable communities and in taking action against human rights violations in the country. During the parliament sitting on July 22, the motion to remove Zahid from HRCM was passed with votes from 61 parliamentarians. Only 2 parliamentarians voted against the dismissal.
The dismissal of Zahid follows the resignation of three other members, Aminath Eenas, Aishath Afreen and Moosa Ali Kaleyfaan. The three members were also included in the initial dismissal motion, but had resigned before the parliament could vote to remove them.
With the resignation of three members and dismissal of one member, HRCM is currently left with only one member, Naiveen Abdulla. As she is also currently on maternity leave, there are no active members at HRCM right now.
The inquiry report prepared by the parliament committee highlighted the negligence of HRCM in monitoring the conditions of children under state care. The committee also noted HRCM had failed to take any action against the major human rights violations committed in the Maldives between 2015 and 2018, adding the commission had been working under political influence.