Nine Organizations Urge Maldives to Abandon Plans to Reintroduce the Death Penalty

Nine international and local human rights organizations have jointly called on the Maldivian government and Parliament to halt any efforts to implement or expand the scope of the death penalty. The joint statement was published by Amnesty International and co-signed by groups including the disbanded Maldives Democracy Network (MDN), Human Rights Advocates, Human Rights Watch, and the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network.

The appeal comes after President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu stated on July 30 that the government had requested further review of a proposed amendment to the Narcotics Act, which would introduce the death penalty for drug trafficking offences.

The organizations expressed concern over the proposed move, emphasizing that the Maldives is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which advocates for the abolition of capital punishment. The statement underscored that introducing the death penalty for drug offences violates international human rights standards and runs counter to global trends—113 countries have abolished the death penalty, and many that still retain it have stopped applying it to drug-related offences.

“We call on the government to stop these amendment efforts,” the statement read. “We urge members of Parliament to reject any attempts to expand the scope of the death penalty. We further call on the Maldivian government to take swift steps to completely abolish the death penalty and quickly change the sentences for all crimes currently punishable by death.”

The joint declaration also warned that introducing capital punishment for crimes that were not previously subject to such penalties contradicts the Maldives’ international commitments under the ICCPR. The statement emphasized the human rights risks and potential for irreversible miscarriages of justice inherent in capital punishment systems.

Attorney General Ahmed Usham has confirmed that the government is working to finalize the bill to amend the Narcotics Act during the current parliamentary session, which is set to conclude next week.