Foreign relations of the Maldives
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Maldives follows a non-aligned policy and has expressed its commitment to maintaining friendly relations with all countries.
India enjoys a considerable influence over Maldives' foreign policy and provides extensive security co-operation especially after Operation Cactus in 1988 during which India repelled Tamil mercenaries who invaded the country. The maritime borders with India and Sri Lanka were demarcated through bilateral negotiations and agreements deposited with the UN Secretary General. The maritime border with the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) remains undemarcated, with negotiations with the UK being broken off by the Maldives in the late 1990s. However, the Maldives has rejected offers by Mauritius to open negotiations on the demarcation of the maritime boundary between the Chagos Archipelago, which forms part of the BIOT.
As founder member in 1985 of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, SAARC, which brings together Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the country plays a very active role in SAARC. The Maldives has taken the lead in calling for a South Asian Free Trade Agreement, the formulation of a Social Charter, the initiation of informal political consultations in SAARC forums, the lobbying for greater action on environmental issues, the proposal of numerous human rights measures such as the regional convention on child rights and for setting up a SAARC Human Rights Resource Centre. The Maldives is also an advocate of greater international profile for SAARC such as through formulating common positions at the UN.
The Maldives also maintains close cultural relations with Islamic countries, and is a member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC). However, the Maldives has often distanced itself from positions taken by the OIC on matters such as the Kashmir dispute, which it regards as a bilateral issue to be settled peacefully between India and Pakistan. It has also not supported the OIC position on issues such as that of Cyprus, subscribing to the stance taken by the UN.
In 1982, the Maldives joined the Commonwealth of Nations, first as special member and in 1985 became full member.
The Maldives has lately become a very strong advocate of human rights, as one of the earliest supporters of the Human Rights Council. For the past two years running, the Maldives was the only South Asian country to have voted against North Korea on human rights issues. In 2006, the Maldives acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, together with its optional protocol, as well as the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In 2005, the Maldives became one of the promoters of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture after having earlier acceded to the Convention against Torture. The Maldives is party to the Child Rights Convention, the Convention on the elimination of discrimination against women and its optional protocol. In April 2006, the Maldives issued a standing invitation to all special procedures mandates of the UN human rights machinery to visit to the Maldives.
While strongly supportive of the Palestinian cause, the Maldives had not, however, supported earlier calls for the expulsion of Israel from the UN, upholding its commitment to maintaining the universality of the UN. In 2005, the Maldives co-sponsored the resolution tabled by the USA on holocaust remembrance, and in 2007 it also co-sponsored the US-led resolution on condemning holocaust denial. In response to the Oslo peace process, the Maldives relaxed private sector restrictions on ties with Israel.
At the UN, the Maldives has highlighted the vulnerability of small states to various threats including terrorism, activities of mercenaries and organised crime. It is also a strong advocate of counter-terrorism and is party to all the main UN conventions against terrorism.
Development co-operation is a major priority of the Maldives and it has been campaigning at the UN for a more structured means of graduation from the list of least developed countries targeted for preferential assistance. The main donors to the Maldives are Japan, India, and Australia.
The Maldives has a limited number of diplomatic missions. Denmark, Norway, the UK, Germany, Russian Federation, Italy, France, Netherlands, Turkey, and Sweden have consular agencies in Malé under the supervision of their embassies in Sri Lanka and India. The UNDP has a representative resident in Malé, as do UNICEF and WHO. Many countries have nonresident ambassadors accredited to the Maldives, most of them based in Sri Lanka or India.
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