Convictions matter more than landmass, wealth or military strength - Naseem

The Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in collaboration with The United States Department of State and the Brookings Institution convened a panel at the Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC to discuss the Road to Democratic Reform in the Maldives.

The panelists included Foreign Minister H. E. Mr. Ahmed Naseem, Assistant Secretary of State for South/Central Asia, US Department of State, Robert O. Blake, Former Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Teresita Schaffer, Brookings Senior Fellow Dr. Stephen Cohen, and the Chair of the panel, Assistant Director of the South Asia Studies Program at Johns Hopkins University Dr. Walter Andersen.

In his remarks, Assistant Secretary Blake highlighted the close and very productive relationship between the United States and the Maldives and praised Maldives’ international leadership on a number of pressing issues such as human rights and climate change. “Maldives has proven to be an able partner in challenging the great problems of our time” said Mr. Blake referring to US – Maldives relations. He also commended the efforts of the Maldives in addressing the challenges of youth unemployment, drug addiction and the fiscal deficit.  He further highlighted that the United States is pleased to partner with the Maldives in key areas such as educational exchanges, natural resource management programs and maritime security cooperation. 

Foreign Minister Mr. Naseem's speech titled “Democratic Transition in the Muslim World” explained how the United States and Maldives are allied and united by the ideals that human rights and human dignity are inviolable.  He further described that the “Muslim Awakening” in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is the result of the people of that region demanding a democratic government that will protect their human rights and uphold the rule of law. Minister Naseem added that those leaders that undermine and abuse human rights would ultimately be held accountable for their actions and that the Maldives, as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, continue to press Bahrain, Syria, Iran, Yemen and Libya to listen to their people and begin genuine programs of democratic and human rights reform.

Minister Naseem stressed that the international community must take a principled approach to ensure that the current wave of democratic reform in the Muslim world results in a positive outcome.  Specifically, this means that the international community should recognize the establishment of the State of Palestine, living side-by-side and at peace with Israel.  Also, the Maldives is pushing strongly for reform of the Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC) so that it protects the rights of the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims instead of the interests of a narrow group of kings, presidents and autocrats, as the changes we are seeing are not transitory, but instead reflect deep and lasting changes across Islamic society. 

Minister Naseem also elaborated on the importance of consolidating democracy in the Maldives and building institutional capacity. “Our democracy is by no means secure – it is rather a work in progress,” Minister Naseem said.