President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih requested the parliament to approve Maldives' participation in four international agreements following recommendations from the cabinet.
The agreements submitted for approval are:
- UN Arms Trade Treaty - UN Convention on Cluster Munitions - Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons - Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure (OPCRC)
The UN Arms Trade Treaty concerns the enhancement of regulations on international trade of conventional arms, maintaining international standards, and controlling illegal arms trade. The treaty promotes regional and international stability via trade transparency and accountability among signatory states.
The cabinet emphasized the importance of signing such a treaty considering Maldives' role in promoting peace and stability in the international arena.
The United Nations Convention on Cluster Munitions prohibits using, stockpiling, producing and transferring cluster munitions. Parties to the agreement also commit to the clearance of contaminated sites and the provision of adequate care and rehabilitation for survivors.
Cabinet Ministers recommended that Maldives sign the treaty since it does not possess cluster munitions and is party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. They also highlighted that Maldives had voted to pass the UN Convention on Cluster Munitions and has advocated for disarmament and non-proliferation in the international arena.
The Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) include undertakings not to develop, test, produce, acquire, possess, stockpile, use or threaten to use nuclear weapons. TPNW also prohibits the deployment of nuclear weapons on national territory and provision of assistance to any state conducting such activities. Signatories will also be under obligation to suppress prohibited activity undertaken by its citizens or on territory under its jurisdiction.
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure (OPCRC) will facilitate funding and technical expertise for efforts to protect children's rights through UN agencies and affiliated programmes. The OPCRC will allow individual children to submit complaints regarding specific violations of their rights under the Convention and its first two optional protocols.
The cabinet recommended that Maldives sign the treaty as it is already a member state of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and considering the government's numerous efforts on both national and international levels to further protect human rights in the country.
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