The Spokesperson at the President’s Office Miuvaan Mohamed has revealed necessary measures will be taken to address the issues raised by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) following its visit to the Home for People with Special Needs in Guraidhoo, Kaafu Atoll.
HRCM formulated a report after visiting the special needs home from March 6-8. In the report, the commission expressed concern over the lack of responsibility shown by the officials towards the patients at the facility.
Speaking at a press conference, Miuvaan said that the government had taken all necessary measures to address the issues raised by the HRCM following its visit to the Centre for People with Special Needs. He also emphasised that the report was published in March and that the status of the facility has since changed.
The issues highlighted in the HRCM report include housing more than the recommended number of patients as well as human rights abuses. The commission detailed other issues including officials erasing records of complaints submitted by the patients. HRCM also requested the Ministry of Family, Gender and Social Services to solve the highlighted issues.
In the report, HRCM cited senior officials of the special needs home as saying that social workers at the gender ministry make the decision to send patients to the facility. The commission noted the failure to solve the issues it had highlighted in the past 10 years and requested the ministry to install CCTV cameras inside the wards within one year of receiving the report.
