Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Government of the Maldives on the political situation in that country.

​I most recently discussed the political situation in the Maldives with Maldivian Foreign Minister Dr Asim at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 28 February. I raised UK concerns about governance and human rights in the Maldives and the importance of upcoming elections being free and fair. I also reiterated the UK’s opposition to the use of the death penalty in all circumstances, and raised concern over reports of the construction of a new execution chamber in the Maldives.