Maldives: Detention of illegal workers is ‘unconstitutional’

The Human Rights Commission of Maldives (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 9 February, at which time, 49 expatriates were being detained. It was the HRCM's first visit to the centre.

The detention centre is operated by the department of immigration and emigration’s Expatriate Monitoring Centre, which holds expatriates before they are deported.

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 further 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 who were working legally were entitled to the rights enshrined in the Employment Act, adding the Emigration Act needed revision.

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 and relevant ILO conventions.

In February, a crowd of expatriate workers held a protest to demand the 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.

The visit was conducted by the HRCM into its designated role as the National Preventitive Mechanism, under the Optional Protocol in the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Punishment or Treatment.

Date: 8 March 2009

Source: Minivan News http://www.minivannews.com/news_detail.php?id=6131 and HRCM