Child Soldiers Global Report 2004 - Maldives
| Publisher | Child Soldiers International |
| Publication Date | 2004 |
| Cite as | Child Soldiers International, Child Soldiers Global Report 2004 - Maldives, 2004, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4988064428.html [accessed 15 October 2022] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Republic of Maldives
Covers the period from April 2001 to March 2004.
Population: 309,000 (155,000 under 18)
Government armed forces: none
Compulsory recruitment age: no conscription
Voluntary recruitment age: 16 (security forces)
Voting age: 21
Optional Protocol: signed 10 May 2002
Other treaties ratified (see glossary): CRC, GC AP I and II
Voluntary recruitment to the security forces was reportedly from the age of 16. No information was available on the presence of under-18s in the service.
Context
Under severe restrictions on freedom of expression, there were no political parties or privately owned press. In September 2003 violent protests broke out in response to reports that a prisoner had died as a result of ill-treatment by the National Security Service. Up to 300 people were said to have been arrested, many arbitrarily, in the aftermath of the protests. All were released by the end of 2003.1
Government
National recruitment legislation and practice
There is no conscription.2 The National Security Service, which is under the control of the Ministry of Defence and National Security, performs both military and police functions and is responsible for internal security. It may enlist volunteers over the age of 16.3 The Maldives informed the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child that there was no minimum age for national service as the country had no army.4
1 Amnesty International Report 2004, http://web. amnesty.org/library/engindex.
2 Civil and political rights, including the question of conscientious objection to military service, Report of the UN Secretary-General to UN Commission on Human Rights, UN Doc. E/CN.4/2000/55, 17 December 1999, http://www.ohchr.org.
3 Initial report of the Maldives to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/8/Add.33, 5 August 1996, http://www.ohchr.org.
4 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of initial report of the Maldives, UN Doc. CRC/C/SR.466, 4 June 1998.
