Since assuming office in November 2023, President Mohamed Muizzu’s administration has made little progress on human rights, failing to amend abusive laws and announcing plans to reinstate the death penalty. Furthermore, the government failed to enforce its own environmental protection laws and sought to block important climate litigation efforts.
Freedom of Expression and Assembly
The Muizzu government kept in place the abusive Freedom of Peaceful Assembly Act, which imposes severe restrictions on the right to assembly, despite having repeatedly promised to amend the law. The law requires prior government approval for public demonstrations and limits where they can be held. On August 28, the authorities arrested two women for peacefully protesting Israeli government rights violations against Palestinians outside diplomatic missions in the capital, Malé.
On July 25, after Bangladeshi nationals in a southern atoll held a peaceful protest in support of student protests in Bangladesh, Maldivian authorities responded by threatening to deport the protesters, citing a visa condition that prohibits migrants from engaging in “political activities” – a restriction that violates international human rights law. According to local rights groups, on September 4 the Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology stated that “so far” none of the protesters had been deported.
Criminal Justice
The authorities seldom investigate and prosecute perpetrators of threats, intimidation, and violence against civil society groups and critical voices in the Maldives. The families of journalist Ahmed Rilwan, who was forcibly disappeared in 2014, and Yameen Rasheed, a blogger and government critic who was murdered in 2017, still await justice. In May, the government pledged to publish the findings of the Commission on Deaths and Disappearances’ investigation, however, to date the findings had not been released.
In the early stages of his presidency, Muizzu’s government announced plans to reinstate the death penalty, which would end a de facto moratorium on its use that dates back to the 1950s. Rights groups have raised serious concerns about the enforcement of the death penalty in the Maldives, particularly given the judiciary’s history of corruption, politicization, and failure to provide justice and accountability for past crimes. Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances.
In August, the Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology proposed an amendment to the Drug Act to impose the death penalty for individuals convicted of smuggling upwards of 500 grams of drugs.
Climate Change and Environmental Harm
As an atoll island country, the Maldives is highly exposed to sea-level rise and the impacts of climate change. However, efforts to adapt without adequate consultations (e.g., through reclamation) have threatened people’s rights. Despite having significant environmental protection laws like the Environmental Protection and Preservation Act, enforcement remains weak, with authorities routinely bypassing local community consultations and ignoring recommendations from environmental impact assessments.
In February, the Malé High Court issued an injunction suspending work on a controversial reclamation project after a lawsuit cited the risk of serious economic, environmental, and cultural harm to the local community. However, the Supreme Court overturned the decision after the government appealed, citing financial losses it would incur. The United Nations special rapporteur on the right to a healthy environment, David Boyd, noted potential interference by powerful interest groups in the case, saying that he had encountered other disturbing examples of judges and environmental advocates being harassed or intimidated in legal cases related to development projects.
Women’s rights
Despite a strong push by women’s rights organizations, Maldives does not prohibit female genital mutilation. Reports indicate that around 12 percent of girls in the country are subject to the harmful practice.
Maldives’ domestic violence law needs improvements as survivors still face many difficulties to obtain protection and justice.
Migrant Workers
The Maldives has the highest proportion of foreign migrant laborers in South Asia, representing about one-third of its entire population, many of whom are undocumented. Migrant workers face a range of entrenched abuses from employers, including deceptive recruitment practices, wage theft, passport confiscation, unsafe living and working conditions, and excessive work demands that may amount to forced labor and violate domestic and international law.
UN experts and rights groups urged the Maldivian government to ratify the International Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and enact laws to guarantee safe working conditions and protection from labor rights violations for migrant workers.
Freedom of Media
The Evidence Act, enacted in 2022, is a vague law that grants courts discretionary powers to compel journalists to disclose their sources. The law is cited as one of the main reasons for the Maldives’ recent decline in the World Press Freedom Index, dropping six places in 2024 to 106th out of 180 countries. Despite government promises to amend the law, it remains in place.
Independent media outlets RaajjeTV and Channel 13 and their staff faced online threats in 2024 from people using anonymous social media profiles. Rights groups called for a transparent investigation into the threats, which contributed to a “fearful atmosphere” for journalists and media workers.
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Adult consensual same-sex sexual conduct remains a criminal offense under the Maldivian penal code. Punishment can include prison sentences of up to eight years and lashes for both men and women. Same-sex marriage is illegal and punishable by up to one year in prison.
In September, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed concern about “high levels of violence, discrimination and stigmatization faced by people on the basis of their sexual orientation” in the Maldives and urged the government to address such abuses.
