Government grants itself ‘extraordinary discretionary powers’ over NGOs
Under new regulations, a registrar at the home ministry has the discretion to suspend NGOs if it conducts activities that could be considered “a threat to national security” or “defamatory towards an individual.”
19 Oct 2015, 9:00 AM
Maldivian human rights groups have expressed concern over new regulations governing civil society organisations that allow state monitoring to “extents unacceptable in open democratic societies.”
In a letter to Michel Forst, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, the Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN) said the new regulation “solidifies anti-democratic practices” and grants a registrar at the home ministry “extraordinary discretionary powers”.
The registrar, appointed by the president, has the discretion to suspend or dissolve NGOs if it conducts activities that could be considered “a threat to national security” or “defamatory towards an individual.”
“These provisions consist of undefined terms that could be used to harass and intimidate NGOs, which is a recurrent trend in the country,” the MDN said.
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