A/HRC/43/50/Add.2
sectors. According to various sources, over 50,000 of all non-nationals are undocumented
migrant workers, an issue a special government task force will aim to address.
68.
Reports raised concerns about the insufficient safeguards to ensure the protection of
migrant workers, especially unskilled labourers. Many do not know their rights and do not
speak Dhivehi. They cannot access public services, participate in cultural life, education or
recreation, and they may face discrimination in some social interactions and in accessing
certain public places, such as some parks. Due to isolation from their families, language and
culture, some also face mental health issues.
69.
One step that would have a significant positive impact for the integration of
expatriates would be to make Dhivehi language classes available to them. Another would
be the creation of cultural centres for their use and the sponsoring of cultural programming
inclusive of them.
4.
The situation of young people
70.
The Special Rapporteur received reports about the frustrations of young people,
including about the concern that cultural spaces are restricted for them. Drugs and gangs
have become a significant problem. 8 The absence of a strong sense of identity and
exclusion of young people from aspects of cultural, economic and social life further
increases their vulnerability to extremist and fundamentalist narratives.
71.
The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment confirmed the
absence of specific cultural programming for young people, but this Ministry does offer an
important array of activities in the fields of sports. In addition, the Ministry supports the
Youth Council and coordinates the network of youth and community centres across the
country. More consideration should be given to the positive role cultural activities can play
in countering boredom and giving young people a sense of belonging and of meaning.
D.
Tourism
72.
Tourism is a vital part of the Maldivian economy, and it brings people from around
the world to the country every year. It should afford advantages to all Maldivians and be a
window to display their culture and identities to the world. The Special Rapporteur noted,
however, that parts of the tourism industry seem to be operating in a somewhat separate,
parallel universe, in which: workers’ human rights are reportedly undermined and unions
forbidden, notwithstanding constitutional guarantees; and tourists are not given adequate
opportunities to see or hear Maldivian performing arts and culture, share Maldivian cuisine
or learn about Maldivian ways of life and crafts.
73.
While conscious that cultural practices and crafts should maintain their meaning for
Maldivians and not simply be commercialized for tourist purposes, cultural knowledge and
practices can also be revived and professionalized or can find new forms in the interaction
with visitors.
74.
Maldivian artists are eager to perform and display their work in resorts. However,
the September 2018 destruction of the artwork Coralarium at the Fairmont Sirru Fen Fushi
Hotel in the Shaviyani atoll by the outgoing Government on the eve of elections has made it
more difficult for artists to find platforms in resorts to do so and had a chilling effect for
artistic expression. This incident must be fully investigated in the light of the right to
freedom of artistic expression and creativity. 9
75.
The Government should consider adhering to the new Framework Convention on
Tourism Ethics10 and explore avenues for supporting the presence of Maldivian arts and
crafts in the tourist industry – for example, by developing an authenticity trademark for
crafts made in Maldives or by sponsoring a Maldivian shop at airports where artists and
8
9
10
See United Nations Development Programme, Youth Vulnerability in the Maldives, February 2019.
Available at undp.org.
See A/HRC/23/34 and A/HRC/28/57.
World Tourism Organization, resolution 707(XXII).
13