Source: President’s Office - Reference Number: 2008-237
Monday, May 5, 2008:

The President conveyed his appreciation to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for dispatching a Mission to assess UN assistance during the country’s first multiparty presidential election.  He assured the members of the Mission that the Government would extend their firm support and assistance in facilitating the meetings scheduled for the visit.  “We wish to ensure that the Mission can gather all the necessary information to make an informed assessment on UN assistance during the election”, he noted.

The President assured the Mission of the Government’s full commitment to ensuring that the presidential election is free and fair.  He also thanked the UN for its support and assistance throughout the reform process.

04 May 08: The Government today welcomed the United Nations Fact Finding Mission to the country. The Mission, headed by the UN Department of Political Affairs, was dispatched by the Secretary General of the UN on the invitation of  the Government of Maldives and will be in the country from 4 to 9 of this month.

02 May 08: The UN spokesperson annunced today that a UN Inter-Agency Fact-finding Mission will visit the Maldives from 4 to 9 May 2008 to assess whether UN assistance to the forthcoming elections would be appropriate. "A UN Fact Finding mission led by the Department of Political Affairs will visit the Maldives from 4 to 9 May 2008 in response to a request by the Government.The mission will meet with a range of interlocutors including Government officials, political leaders, civil society, non-governmental organisation and other important national actors, as well as diplomatic representatives in order to assess whether UN assistance to the forthcoming elections would be appropriate.”

Monday 21 April 2008: The Maldives Special Majlis (constitutional assembly) yesterday adopted the Chapter of the draft new Constitution dealing with transitional arrangements to cover the period from the ratification of the new Constitution until the swearing in of the new President and the election of the new Parliament.

The Transitional Chapter has been the source of considerable disagreement between the governing party, the DRP, and the main opposition party, the MDP. The latter argued that an unelected national council and transitional parliament should hold power during the transition phase, in order to guarantee free and fair elections. Opposing this stance, the DRP held that the current President and Parliament must fulfill their democratic constitutional mandate until the election of their successors under the new Constitution. Creating unelected transitional institutions would, argued the DRP, set a dangerous precedent.Instead, they stressed the importance of establishing independent commissions during the transition phase which would guarantee free and fair elections. This would include an Interim Elections Commission, an interim Judicial Services Commission and an Interim Supreme Court. 

New York, 10 April 2008.

 
New York, 3 April 2008.

The Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations, H.E. Mr. Ahmed Khaleel, today addressed the Thematic Debate of the United Nations General Assembly entitled, “Recognizing the achievements, addressing the challenges and getting back on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by 2015”.

Ambassador Khaleel used his statement to update the General Assembly on the progress made by the Maldives in achieving the MDGs. He highlighted that despite the setbacks Maldives suffered due to the Asian Tsunami in 2004, careful planning, prudent policies, strong leadership and hard work of our people coupled with the generous assistance and cooperation of our development partners, had once again put the Maldives back on track to achieving most of the MDGs on target.  Addressing the Maldives status on achieving the MDGs, Ambassador said “We have achieved Goal 1 - eradication of extreme poverty and hunger and Goal 2 - universal primary education. He also said that the Maldives is on track to achieving Goals 4, 5 and 6 on reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, and combating communicable diseases.

28 Mar 08: The United Nations Human Rights Council today adopted by consensus a resolution tabled by the Maldives Government on the subject of human rights and climate change. The resolution is seen as a vital stepping stone towards increased global awareness about the immediate and compelling human face of climate change. The Maldives hopes that this in-turn will enhance the moral and ethical imperative for the world’s climate change negotiators to act decisively to halt and reverse global warming.

The resolution was sponsored by seventy-five countries from all regions[1] , demonstrating the importance of the issue for millions of people around the world, as well as a common determination among the world’s governments to respond decisively to climate change and in-so-doing protect the future of vulnerable countries like the Maldives.

21 Mar 08: The Republic of Maldives and the Gabonese Republic has established Diplomatic Relations, yesterday. At a ceremony held at the Maldives Mission in New York, the Joint Communiqué formalizing Diplomatic Relations between the two countries was signed on behalf of the Maldivian Government by His Excellency Mr. Ahmed Khaleel, Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations and on behalf of the Gabonese Government by His Excellency Mr. Denis Dangue Rewaka, Permanent Representative of the Gabonese Republic to the United Nations.

The ceremony was also attended by Ms. Iruthisham Adam, Counsellor at the Maldives Mission to the UN and Mr. Asheer Abdul Azeez, First secretary at the Maldives Mission to the UN.

09 March 08: Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Mr. Abdulla Shahid, arrived in Dakar, Senegal, last night to attend the 11th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference from 13th to 14th March 2008.

The Islamic Summit Conference is being organized by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) which consists of 57 member states. The OIC works towards promoting international peace and security among its member states, and also encourages close cooperation in the muslim world.

Various global issues are expected to be discussed at the meeting to be held in Dakar. From the independence of Kosovo to the Middle East peace process are to be tabled in the agenda.

4 Mar 08, Geneva: The Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, this morning addressed the High-Level Segment of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Seventh Session, and used his speech to urge the Council to look into the human rights implications of climate change as a way of generating understanding about the real-world human impact of global warming.

“Without recognizing and understanding this human dimension of the problem; how can we, the family of nations, hope to take, within the framework of negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the difficult yet necessary decisions required to safeguard the future of vulnerable people around the world?” asked Mr. Shahid.