Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with other Commonwealth leaders about the need to encourage further democratic reform in the Maldives.

Mr Hugo Swire

On 24 February, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) met in London to discuss the situation in the Maldives. Following that, I hosted a meeting for CMAG Ministers and senior officials. I welcomed CMAG’s conclusion that their consideration of the situation in Maldives should continue. I also supported their recommendations, in particular the need for the release of political leaders and a swift implementation of reforms to strengthen separation of powers and independence of the judiciary in Maldives. I encourage the Maldives Government to implement all of CMAG’s recommendations. I also discussed the situation in the Maldives with Foreign Minister McCully during my visit to New Zealand on 21 February and with Foreign Minister Samaraweera when I visited Sri Lanka in January.