The UN Country Team in the Maldives welcomes the decision of the Attorney-General’s Office to appeal the controversial court decision of last July to banish four men who broke into a 12 year old girl's bedroom and allegedly raped her.

As party to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women and Convention of the Rights of the Child, the Government of Maldives has an obligation to take the necessary steps for protecting and promoting the rights of women and girls. A life free of violence for women and girls in the Maldives is a fundamental human right. 

Whereas the UN Country Team is of the opinion that an appropriate  constitutional/institutional framework can ensure the meaningful implementation of the ongoing legal reform, it also recognizes that political leadership and determination will go a long way in removing obstacles to the elimination of all sorts of violence against women and girls in the Maldives.

The UN Country Team takes this opportunity to reiterate its support to the joint efforts of the Government, Commission on Human Rights and relevant non-governmental  organizations to address the impunity surrounding crimes perpetrated by sex offenders in the Maldives. 

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Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, 2005.

Notes to editors: For further enquiries, please contact Anna Senga, UN Coordination Specialist anna.senga@undp.org