Displacement Solutions has worked extensively for several years on various HLP issues in the Maldives. Following intensive work in the Maldives after the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2005, in March 2008 the DS Director gave a series of speeches and training sessions on human rights and climate change in the Maldives at the invitation of the UN Office in the Maldives. This mission was followed-up in May 2008, when a member of the HLP Expert Registry was deployed to the Maldives at the request of the National Human Rights Commission to assist in the preparation of an in-depth Housing Assessment in the country. The recommendations of the Housing Assessment were some of the first policy documents implemented by the new Maldivian Government, led by President Nasheed.

Based on discussions with numerous officials in the Maldives and its own previous analyses, it is increasingly clear that the many non-climate-specific HLP challenges can only be effectively addressed if this is done within the context of broader climate change adaptation planning processes. As is well-known – indeed, perhaps more well-known than any other affected country – the Maldives is under continual threat from rising sea levels. In addition to the devastating effects rising seas may have in economic terms for a country so dependent on international tourism, ongoing land loss, overcrowding and the gradual decline of living standards on several island groups all have a major bearing on planning processes to tackle the consequences of displacement caused by climate change.

For access to the National Adaptation Plan of Action of the Maldives. click here.

For the Male’ Declaration on the Human Dimension of Global Climate Change, made by the Small Island Developing States, click here.

For the report of Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, Raquel Rolnik, regarding her mission to the Maldives, click here.