RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that adequate human and financial resources are allocated to the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) to enable it to discharge all of its mandated activities in line with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles) (General Assembly resolution 48/134, annex). The Committee underlines the importance that the State party respect the independence of the HRCM and not interfere unduly with regards to budget allocations and appointment of its members. The Committee recommends that the State party take into account the Committee’s general comment No. 2 (2002) on the role of independent human rights institutions in the protection and promotion of the rights of the child, in order to enable the HRCM to pay due attention to the concerns of children, e.g. by establishing a children’s rights unit in order to be easily accessible for children at the local level and to facilitate dealing with complaints by or on behalf of children in a child-sensitive manner by well trained staff, and when cases have been referred to authorities ensure that they are followed up on by the HRCM.