Lankans among detainees held unconstitutionally - Maldives HRC

The Human Rights Commission Maldives (HRCM) said some Sri Lankans are among expatriate workers at Male Immigration Centre being held unconstitutionally without a court ruling.

According to Minivan News in the Maldives, the HRCM has described the detention of expatriate workers at Male' Immigration Centre, some of whom have been held for more than one month without a court ruling, as "unconstitutional".

The statement was made in its latest report, compiled after a visit to the centre on February 9 at which time, 49 expatriates were being detained. Jeehan Mahmood, an HRCM media official said, most of the detainees were from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka and were kept in custody for not being in possession of a passport, visa or work permit.

The report notes that according to Article 48 of the Constitution, it is illegal to detain an individual without a court ruling. It adds some of those detained have been held at the centre for more than a month without court approval.

The commission urged legal action against parties, whether employers or agents, responsible for deceiving expatriate workers. "There are cases where a person is brought as a waiter and asked to work as a labourer," Jeehan said. "It's against international law. So, this can be considered human trafficking."

In addition to trafficking, the reports states, the death rate and crime rate among expatriates have risen.

Jeehan said expatriates working legally were entitled to the rights enshrined in the Employment Act.

One of the recommendations proposed by the commission was for the Maldives to sign the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.

In February, a crowd of expatriate workers held a protest to demand the Maldivian Government protect their human rights. The demonstration ended in violence when a group of locals clashed with protesters.

The department of immigration and emigration estimated in January that nearly 30,000 workers were in the Maldives with invalid work permits.

They announced all illegal workers would either have to register or face being deported, and Maldivians found employing workers illegally would have to pay a fine of up to US$3,891.

According to Employment Ministry statistics, over 79,000 foreigners are employed in the Maldives.