Maldives to Criminalize Genocide, 42 Years After Joining UN Convention: AG Usham

The Maldives government is moving to criminalise genocide, with Attorney General Ahmed Usham stating that the step is a long-overdue obligation under the Genocide Convention, which the country joined 42 years ago. Speaking in a post on X, Usham said the amendment to the Penal Code, submitted by Maafannu Dhekunu constituency MP Abdullah Rifau (Bochey), is required by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The Maldives acceded to the convention on 24 April 1984, but Usham noted that despite four decades, the country had not fulfilled its duty to enact domestic legislation. 'Even after 42 years, the Maldives has not discharged this responsibility,' he wrote. The amendment defines genocide as a first-degree felony, covering acts such as killing members of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group; causing serious bodily or mental harm; deliberately inflicting conditions calculated to bring about the group's destruction; imposing measures to prevent births; and forcibly transferring children. Incitement to commit genocide is also criminalised. The bill explicitly states that being a head of state, a minister, a parliamentarian, a judge or a security commander does not constitute a defence, nor does acting under superior orders. Usham also highlighted that the Maldives has already intervened in two genocide cases at the International Court of Justice – The Gambia v. Myanmar and South Africa v. Israel – advocating for accountability. He argued that failing to enact the domestic law undermines the country’s legal arguments in those cases. The government submitted the amendment to parliament, with MP Rifau proposing it. The amendment aims to align Maldives law with the international treaty and enable prosecution of genocide as a crime under domestic law.