UN HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE FIELD UN HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE FIELD MALDIVES Participation (P) Population size1 Surface area1 Human Development Index2 NHRI (if applicable)3 0.44 million 0.717 (rank: 102/188 in 2016) Status B, 2010 Type of engagement Human Rights Adviser Year established 2018 Field office(s) Male UN partnership framework United Nations Development Assistance Framework 2016-2020 Staff as of 31 December 2018 1 Key OMP pillars in 2018 123 Please refer to Data sources and notes on p.191. KEY PILLAR RESULTS: Mechanisms (M) M2 – Civil society organizations are empowered to effectively monitor and report on the human rights situations including freedom of expression, association, and media; and are able to submit UPR mid-term reports, and other shadow and alternative reports to the treaty body reviews. As a result of OHCHR advocacy and technical guidance, civil society organizations made three substantive submissions to CAT. In preparation for CAT’s review of the Maldives State Party report, OHCHR provided technical guidance on the submission of reports by stakeholders and raised awareness among civil society organizations to encourage them to submit their own stakeholder reports. As a result, three submissions were made to CAT. In 2019, OHCHR will provide a training for civil society organizations, the UNCT, the Human Rights Commission of Maldives and the Government in preparation for the upcoming UPR review. 262 UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2018 Accountability (A) A1 – Maldives maintains the moratorium on the death penalty with improved legislation related to protecting juvenile offenders. Throughout 2018, OHCHR communicated its concerns to the Government regarding its expressed intention to lift the 64-year de facto moratorium on the death penalty. The new administration that was sworn into office, in November, announced its willingness to maintain the moratorium. In preparation of the review by the Committee against Torture (CAT) of the Maldives State Party report, also in November, OHCHR briefed the Committee on its concerns related to the death penalty in Maldives. During its official statement to CAT, on 27 November, the new Government repeated its intention to uphold the 65-year moratorium on the death penalty. Based on CAT’s concluding observations, combined with the statement delivered by the Minister at the President’s Office during the review, OHCHR will follow up with the Government to explore further means of constructive engagement in order to ensure that the de facto moratorium is maintained. P1 – Legislation and policies related to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly have significantly improved and the environment is conducive to free, fair and transparent elections. From June to September, in cooperation with DPA and in liaison with the Resident Coordinator’s Office, the Office contributed to ensuring the compliance of the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly with international human rights norms by monitoring the political and human rights situation leading up to and following the presidential elections. The elections were held on 23 September. OHCHR consistently communicated its concerns related to the absence of an environment that would be conducive to genuine, free and fair elections through the reporting period and advocated for the fundamental rights of individuals who have been considered to be arbitrarily detained by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and individuals who were arrested after the declaration of the state of emergency in February. The Office also conducted a mission to the Maldives during the state of emergency and engaged with the Government on concerns related to the suspension of key rights. After the change of the administration, some restrictive laws, such as the Anti-Defamation Law, were repealed. The Government expressed its intention to conduct a comprehensive legal audit to ensure its compliance with international law during the review by CAT in November 2018. focused on civil society engagement with international human rights mechanisms and on human rights monitoring, documentation and reporting. MYANMAR Population size1 Surface area1 Human Development Index2 NHRI (if applicable)3 53.86 million 677,000 km² 0.578 (rank: 147/188 in 2016) Status B, 2015 Type of engagement Human Rights staff (Other type of field presence) Year established 2014 Field office(s) Bangkok, Thailand, Cox’s Bazaar UN partnership framework United Nations Development Assistance Framework 2018-2022 Staff as of 31 December 2018 3 XB requirements 2018 US$1,660,500 Peace and Security (PS) PS3 – Relevant intergovernmental fora, processes and mechanisms, including the Human Rights Council, UN General Assembly and Security Council, integrate human rights concerns when they address situations of conflict and insecurity in the subregion. Key OMP pillars in 2018 123 The Office raised human rights issues in several relevant UN fora, including at the global and national levels. Please refer to Data sources and notes on p.191. KEY PILLAR RESULTS: Accountability (A) A5 – UN policies and practices comply with human rights standards and UNDAF guidance (2017); they focus on accountable institutions, access to justice, and the participation of civil society in planning and monitoring. OHCHR contributed to incorporating rights-based approaches into various accountability processes related to Myanmar by producing two public reports and providing training for civil society partners on the documentation of human rights violations. UN partners involved in both the political and humanitarian response. Specifically, OHCHR produced a number of public reports, including on the human rights situation in Myanmar that was circulated in the context of the High Commissioner’s interactive dialogue at the thirty-eighth session of the Human Rights Council as well as the report The Invisible Boundary: Criminal prosecutions of journalism in Myanmar, in September. It also provided regular briefings and inputs to OHCHR and relevant international stakeholders. During the reporting period, OHCHR continued to fulfil its promotion and protection mandate with regard to the evolving human rights situation on the ground. In order to enhance human rights protection in Myanmar, the Office formulated a number of recommendations targeting parties to the conflict, Member States and To encourage the participation of civil society partners in the monitoring of human rights violations, the Human Rights Team organized a week-long workshop for a wide variety of civil society representatives in Myanmar. The training, which is intended as the first of a series of training, involved 11 participants (six women and five men) and Shifts: OHCHR supported and liaised with UN partners to strengthen the mainstreaming of protection concerns and human rights into humanitarian processes and the UN’s responses to the conflict. OHCHR provided technical support to various missions, including those undertaken by the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar (January and June/July), the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Myanmar and the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights. The Office also contributed to the New York-based discussions in the Executive Committee and its Permanent Monitoring Group on Myanmar. Moreover, OHCHR provided technical advice and policy positions to the UNCT in Myanmar and its sub-entities, including the Human Rights Theme Group, the Humanitarian Country Team and the InterSector Coordination Group operating in Cox’s Bazar. The Office advised the UNCT on promoting the recommendations of the FFM report, which addressed alleged human rights violations in Kachin, Rakhine and Shan states and urged greater adherence to the UN’s Human Rights up Prevention UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2018 263