Excellency President Mohamed Nasheed, Mr Achim Steiner Executive Director of UNEP, Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, May I first congratulate His Excellency the President and the Minister for taking this bold step to phase-out HCFCs within the next ten years. Congratulations. Also, may I thank especially UNEP and also UNDP and other UN agencies for supporting the government in achieving this ambitious goal. At the risk of being slightly redundant, I will proceed with the statement that was prepared for me. Thank you Mr President for letting me make the statement. We meet here to celebrate the Maldives’ decision to phase-out the use of HCFC gasses by 2020. As we know, these e greenhouse gasses are destroying the ozone layer and fueling climate change. HCFCs therefore represent a security threat to the Maldives and we are right to rid them from our country. As you just heard, we decided to achieve this goal within the next ten years and it is ten years ahead of the Montreal Protocol. This level of ambition is something we can all be proud. By discontinuing the use of these harmful products, in our air conditioners and refrigeration systems, we can lead the world by example. Our Environment Ministry estimates that the Maldives’ greenhouse gas emissions will also fall significantly when we stop using HCFCs. It makes clear environmental sense to phase-out these dangerous greenhouse gasses. But I believe is also makes economic sense to move away from HCFCs. They are rapidly becoming yesterday’s technology. They have already been phased out in most Western countries. And as more and more countries ban HCFCs, it will become increasingly expensive to use them. As HCFCs slowly disappear from world markets, it will become increasingly difficult to repair appliances that contain them. And so it makes immense sense to switch to other alternatives. Appliances that do not use HCFCs also tend to be more energy efficient, making them cheaper to run. Over the next 10 years, most resorts, businesses and households in the Maldives will replace or restore products such as refrigerators and air conditioners, as old systems ware out. And so we want to gradually replace old HCFC systems, with better and more energy efficient alternatives. The HCFC phase-out is part of the government’s wider efforts to steer a new development path. We want to move away from old fashioned ‘business as usual’ development. The old, 20th Century view of development suggests a country such as the Maldives should burn more fossil fuels. This wisdom suggests that pollution is an inevitable by-product of economic growth. This logic dictates that we should plunder our natural environment, for the short-term benefit of the current generation and we reject this view. The Maldives is very fragile. Our economic health is highly dependent on the health of our reef ecosystems. If we damage our reefs, we damage our country, our economy. Instead, we want harness new technologies to pioneer green growth and development. We want this growth to complement, rather than clash with, our natural environment. We already know well that the Maldives aims to become carbon neutral within 10 years. This is the toughest mitigation target of any nation under the Copenhagen Accord. In part, we are pioneering a new development path because we want to lead by example. Climate change is fundamentally a security issue to the Maldives. Left unchecked, climate change will kill our coral reefs and submerge our island home. We know we cannot solve this problem on our own. But by leading the way, we hope to persuade larger countries to reduce emissions. Environmental considerations lie at the heart of our development strategy. But our desire to adopt green growth is not only borne from ecological concerns. It is also influenced by economic considerations. We don’t view cutting greenhouse gasses only as an environmental burden. We are going green as an economic and security advantage. Like many countries, the Maldives is highly dependent on oil. We rely on oil to keep our lights on; our cars running; and our boats sailing. Our economy is totally dependent on imported fuels. And yet, we have absolutely no control over the supply or price of these commodities. Our economy is slowly recovering from the mismanagement of the past. And we have left the worst of the recession behind. But an oil price hike would destabilise our economic recovery. And we all know how volatile the oil price can be. I just wonder what would happen to the economy, to people’s electricity bills, to our economic recovery, if world oil prices were to double next week. The global economic recovery, and rising demand from emerging markets, is also likely to keep oil prices high over the long term. The age of cheap oil is over. High prices are here to stay. For the Maldives, a high oil price means a high cost of doing business. And a high cost of doing business, means that less business is done in the Maldives. We want to break our dependence on foreign oil. And we want to utilize our own natural resources, which we have in abundance: the sun, the wind and the waves. In the Maldives, renewable energy also makes sense because imported oil is so costly. It is expensive to ship oil to tiny, far flung islands like the Maldives. The Maldives has some of the world’s highest electricity prices. The average Maldivian pays 25-30 US cents per kilowatt hour for electricity. In some remote islands, people are forced to pay 60 cents per kilowatt hour. Schools complain that 25% of their budgets is spent on diesel for the generators. So I don’t have to tell you that the high energy prices dampen economic growth and development. And high electricity bills are a major concern for the people. In the Maldives, renewable energy is cost effective today. We intend to take full advantage of the cost savings renewable energy can bring. And thank you for the offer that has been made by our friends from India. Thank you Your Excellency the High Commissioner for your statement. There is also a wide economic argument in favour of green growth. The Maldives’ two biggest industries are tourism and fishing. People visit the Maldives to enjoy our beautiful beaches and dive off our breathtaking coral reefs. The coral reefs are also home to thousands of fish and help maintain our tuna stocks. Fishing and tourism are both dependent on healthy reefs and a clean environment. Any damage to our environment therefore damages our economy. And so we are improving waste management. We are building sewerage systems. We have also introduced marine parks and a shark hunting ban, to protect biodiversity. And we hope to soon start work on creating the country’s first carbon neutral island community. Today, the HCFCs phase-out is added to a growing list of projects. In many countries, these projects would be considered environmental measures. In the Maldives, we view them as economic safeguards. There are also long term strategic reasons for moving towards a new, green development path. The Maldives is a small country. We are unlikely to become a major wind or solar manufacturer. We can, though, corner the market by pioneering zero-carbon, off-grid energy systems. If we can work out how to cheaply power a Maldivian island with renewable energy, we can export this model to villages across the world. This will be priceless expertise for a small country. We are also researching potential new sources of energy, such as tidal streams and ocean thermal energy. And we are introducing waste-to-energy systems. We want the Maldives to be an open laboratory for the development of these ideas. The Maldives may be small. But what we are attempting in the Maldives, will soon need to be done everywhere else. I believe we are on brink of a new industrial revolution. The affects of climate change will force the world, sooner or later, to put a price on carbon. And when we do that, it will unleash tremendous change. Renewable sources of power will become cheaper than fossil fuels. Transport systems will move people around without polluting the air. And pristine areas will become more costly to exploit and cheaper to protect. We will witness the most explosive change since the Industrial Revolution. New global companies will arise, taking advantage of huge new markets. But this is a competitive contest. Not every country can be Number 1. The Maldives is developing a niche in the new economy of the future. We don’t want to be left behind in this Century’s most important race. We are what you might call reluctant environmentalists. We are phasing out the use of HCFCs. We are implementing measures to protect biodiversity. We are quitting carbon and embracing green growth. We take these actions because it makes good economic sense. We make this change, not only to protect the global commons, but also to safeguard national security. In short, we undertake this challenge because we want to be the winners, not the losers, of the 21st Century. Thank you very much.

The Honourable keynote speaker Mr Farooq Sobhan; Her Excellency High Commissioner of Bangladesh Dr Selina Mohsin, Honourable Special Envoy of the President Mr Ibrahim Hussain Zaki; Acting Resident Coordinator of the United Nations; Distinguished guests; Ladies and gentlemen. Assalaam Alaikum. My first duty today is to congratulate the High Commissioner for organizing this important seminar which is part of the series of activities planned during the cultural exchange programme. We are very honoured today that we have amongst us a very distinguished scholar and a former diplomat from Bangladesh, Mr Farooq Sobhan. You are most welcome, Your Excellency. The topic for today’s seminar is extremely wide and consists of diverse and important issues – all of them are critical issues for the Maldives’ development. You will remember that we embarked on the journey of democracy not very long ago. The first phase of this journey has been successfully completed with the holding of the first multi party elections, and change of a 30 year old regime. But the journey continues and much remains to be done in terms of defining and consolidating democracy in the country. Obviously this will take time. The kind of democracy we will have will be determined by the values and determination we bring to the process of developing it. The foundations on which we embarked on this journey are determination, courage and hope of a better society. These remain intact. For most part it is these foundations that will drive us to achieve the goals of democratic change. What are these goals? They are human rights, good governance, and development – no democracy without human rights. The most fundamental of those is freedom of speech, and expression. It was Descartes who said “I think, therefore I exist”. But ability to think is no longer sufficient to exist in a modern society. One must be able to express one’s thoughts and communicate freely. A plural political system is one in which diverse ideas, peoples, cultures and values coexist. If truth is the prerogative of a particular group, politics becomes the process by which the truth is imposed on everyone else. In a liberal democratic society truth is the result of discourse and debate. It is true that democracy is never the same in every society. But the kind of democracy we will have depends on the quality of our engagement in the democratic process. That process will not be always smooth because those who engage in them have competing and sometimes conflicting interests and above all different levels of consciousness. It is precisely for these reasons that all freedom loving people in our society must engage and struggle to shape the nature of our democracy. If we leave that process to agents of material interests, social control and autocratic rule, we will fail to achieve a free and democratic society for all. The values and interest we bring to the process are of utmost importance. The values of competition and profit maximization should be balanced with the values of caring and peaceful coexistence. This is why it is important to empower and engage civil society organizations in the democratic process whose experience in social development and whose humanistic values can inform and enrich the formation of democratic structures. Today, our civil society organizations are weak. They are primarily dependent on state for their resources, few wealthy individuals and CSR programmes support non-governmental organizations. Their ability to influence public policy is weak if not nonexistent. Aside from few religious organizations, NGOs do not lobby for positions to change legislations or to influence public policy. The government and its international development partners must assist NGOs to build capacity and become independent. Lessons from Bangladesh will be most helpful in this regard. Similarly, worker and employers organizations are also very new in the Maldives. For that matter we are participating in the international Labour Conference for the very first time this year. A tripartite delegation of the government, employers’ organizations and workers are representing the Maldives delegation to the ILO. Decent work for decent pay is clearly an essential part of a democratic society. This applies to all, irrespective of whether they are Moldavians or expatriates because it is a matter of human rights. The private sector, more bluntly capitalists are always important actors in the political process. Among the different actors, they are usually the most powerful. But it is also in their interest to create a democratic, peaceful and prosperous society. Today, we are creating a number of private enterprises through the transformation of hitherto state owned enterprises. It is important that the public hold the growing share of the work in these private companies whose funding assets were created with the resources of the people. I understand that Mr Sobhan is an expert in the development of private enterprises. I hope that our privatization committee of the government will benefit from your presence in the country. Ladies and gentlemen, the upholding of democracy cannot be left only to the forces of narrow economic and political interests. It must be guided by the vision of the society we desire for our children, it must a vision that continues to be supported by the people. Perhaps the new challenge of leadership is not the vision; it is our ability to keep that vision alive. With these few words it is my privilege to declare this seminar open. Thank you. _____________________

President of the National Human Rights Commission Mr Ahmed Saleem, Excellency High Commissioner from Bangladesh Dr Selina Mohsin, Representative of the International Organisation for Migration, Representatives of SAARC countries, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen. I am very pleased that you are holding a dissemination meeting of the review of the SAARC Convention on Trafficking of Women and Children for Prostitution. I would like to congratulate ADB and the IOM for undertaking this review. I also congratulate the Human Rights Commission, and the Department of Immigration for organizing this meeting. The Convention covers one of the most serious transnational crimes against dignity and the human rights of the most vulnerable people in this region. The Convention aims to criminalize and punish trafficking offenses. It also aims to strengthen regional cooperation and law enforcement. But it looks like the review points out that there are serious shortcomings both in the coverage and implementation of this Convention. I am concerned that the Convention, although it has been forceful for almost 4 years, has not been adequately enforced and applied in the region. Specially, there has been several concerns regarding scope, definition, limited use of HR perspectives, limited regional cooperation for law enforcement, insufficient data analysis, and finally the absence of an independent monitoring mechanisms. Specific limitations include the exclusion of male victims, limitation of definition only to prostitution excluding other forms of trafficking such as forced labour, sex slavery, begging and other slave like practices. The absence of an effective and independent compliance mechanisms undermine effective of this Convention. Similarly, there is inadequate provision for victim protection and rehabilitation. We all know that the primary cause of trafficking is greed and brutal disregard for human rights. Trafficking, specially for commercial sexual exploitation has become a worldwide multi billion dollar industry. The problem is global. Some of the worst forms are found in Asia where more than a million people are exploited each year. Trafficking on this level cannot escape the attention of local and national law enforcement authorities. I would like to call upon, primarily, our own law enforcement agencies and concerned authorities of the government, and also to our counterparts in other neighboring countries to enforce both our laws and except our obligations under this Convention. This illicit trafficking is expanding through the use of other means. I believe internet is playing a very important role in promoting pornography - the low cost of internet advertising for commercial sexual exploitation trade and attracting sex tourists and pedophiles. Many of the activities are explicitly banned in all of our countries, but we seem to somewhat helpless in stemming the problem. The problems of trafficking seem to be increasing all of our countries. Specially concerning is the trafficking of children especially girl children. The effects of sexual exploitation are profound and may be permanent. Normal sexual, physical and emotional development is stunted; self esteem and confidence are undermined. Sexually exploited children are especially vulnerable to the effects of physical and verbal violence, drugs and sexually transmitted diseases. We are concerned that human trafficking could become a growing problem in our country. This report mentions the Maldives as both a source country and a destination country. This provides us today and in the next few months and excellent opportunity for serious review internally and to take corrective actions. Those actions must include improving our legal framework, ratification of relevant conventions including the UN trafficking protocol which is much more comprehensive in its definition of trafficking, and the Convention on migrant workers. The report recommends that the Maldives enact comprehensive anti trafficking legislation and make provision for repatriation of victims. We are aware that the government of the Maldives is working on this at different fronts. Already there is a mechanism in place for smooth repatriation of those who are victims of trafficking. I wish you a very productive workshop and hope that this is the beginning of a new, more vigorous effort to put in place not only the system but also the legislation and also the governmental machinery to combat trafficking. While we talk about government intervention, it is also important to strengthen civil society. I have worked in two countries here - both Bangladesh and Nepal where civil society is extremely active and plays a very important and productive role in addressing the issue of trafficking. As you know the most vulnerable populations are being affected by this – those who are poorest and most vulnerable. So often young women and men, of course, are lured into attractive employment offers but end up serving as sex slaves and being exploited both internally and also abroad in other countries. International cooperation is particularly important in this context. Cooperation among law enforcement agencies is paramount in order to prevent this. We have to set up capacities internally and to raise awareness among parents and civil society organizations. Build capacity to put in place community level interventions to detect, to identify, and to prevent children and women from becoming victims of this trade. So I hope that you will have a chance to discuss these issues comprehensively and specifically in the context of the Maldives because it is an emerging and very dangerous trend, and be able to assist all concerned government agencies to put in the correct measures. I am glad that the Human Rights Commission is taking the lead in this as it should, but also the Department of Immigration. I hope that the Maldives Police Service is also involved in it, we see the State Minister from the Ministry of Home Affairs here. I think all law enforcement agencies have to work together in this. So if there is anything I can do to assist, as you know, I am always most willing to work with you. Thank you very much. _____________________

Excellencies, Distinguished Representatives, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to extend my thanks for your participation in this conference, and for all the goodwill and constructive support you have shown. This government faces major challenges in a period of transition, consolidating our fragile democracy and stabilising the economy at the same time as delivering the social development our people so desperately need. You have heard about many of the challenges over the past two days. The fact that drug abuse is a huge problem among the young. The fact that access to clean water is still a challenge on many islands. The fact that reducing a soaring budget deficit has meant painful spending cuts in an economy over-dependent on government expenditure. I know that you as donors and international partners are helping us with these challenges. I view your participation here and your commitments as a welcome vote of confidence for this government and our strong democratic mandate. We were elected by the people on the basis of a series of key pledges and to bring social change and democratic reform to a country reeling from the impact of economic mismanagement, authoritarianism and the global recession. No reform is possible without an underlying commitment to fiscal responsibility and macroeconomic stability. We need to demonstrate to you as donors our determination to ensure good governance across all policy areas, and working increasingly through the private rather than the public sector to deliver these important outcomes. And we welcome many of your statements of support over the last two days, which have been especially encouraging. As the President mentioned in his opening address, democracy remains fragile in the Maldives. We must work to broaden civil society and to protect the freedom of the press. We support the democratic right and duty of the people to hold us accountable. We must work hard to consolidate our hard-won freedoms. Much progress has been made, but more work needs to be carried out. This is where you come in. We cannot deliver these vital things on our own. We need your support and assistance, and I am grateful for the confidence you have shown in our country. This conference has been an important opportunity for us to listen to donors’ views, and we have identified ways to improve our coordination and cooperation with the donor community and identify ways to strengthen cooperation on an ongoing basis. We are especially delighted with pledges made so far. Donors have pledged US$313 million to the Maldives over the next three years – an outstanding amount. I know the Maldives has made headlines around the world less for our social and economic challenges and more for our commitment to confronting the issue of climate change. Our commitment to carbon neutrality is the strongest mitigation target in the world and we need your help to achieve this. We must ensure that we are not the world’s only carbon neutral nation, but that we solve this problem internationally with other climate leaders like the EU and Japan. The president worked very hard at Copenhagen, and last week we participated in a follow-up meeting of progressive countries in Colombia to drive forward the ambitious mitigation agenda at an international level. We will be retaining our international leadership on this issue, by hosting the next meeting of progressive countries here in Male’ in July, with an eye on getting the best outcome from the upcoming COP 16 in Cancun. Although we are a very vulnerable country to sea level rise I should make clear that we are not going anywhere: we believe we can act internationally and domestically to ensure indefinitely that the Maldives continues to exist, and that our development needs and priorities – from infrastructure to education of the next generation – are always met. Your participation and pledges have demonstrated your great commitment to helping us meet all these challenges. I believe there is an abundance of goodwill and more assistance will be forthcoming with more follow up from our side. We will also develop a complete and aid effectiveness strategy. I thank you once again and hope you have enjoyed your time with us. ___________________

The Honourable Minister, Dr Aminath Jameel, Dr Luna, WHO Representative for the Maldives, Mr Mansoor Ali, the Acting UN Resident Coordinator, ladies and gentlemen. It is my pleasure to inaugurate this very important National Workshop on Social Determinants of Health. I am especially pleased that we have so many guests who have arrived from abroad, especially from Bangladesh, from Bhutan, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Also I would like to welcome or colleagues from CRO and also WHO Headquarters in Geneva. Welcome to you all. From the two previous presentations it is quite obvious that health sector cannot succeed by it self. It requires the support of all the other sectors. Unfortunately in government we tend to work in our own sectors, and the sectors continue to function as silos with very little interaction with each other. I hope this workshop will help to breakdown some of these barriers and force people to work together to solve the critical issues our population faces in health sector. I will try to just briefly address mostly, social and cultural issues that we also need to take into account when we talk about social determinants of health. It is very difficult to separate the health of the individuals, their families and communities – they all seem to be related. Individual health comprises, as you all very well know, both mental and physical health, each contributing to the other. An individual lives in a family and in a community environment, in a society that comprises people, organizations and institutions. Individual, is in a way, surrounded by the social, cultural and physical environment. I tend to think, therefore, the individual’s mental and physical make up is, to some extent, an extension of the cultural and physical environment. Our thoughts are shaped by the collective thoughts within the society as if the individual mind is an extension of the societal mind or minds. As a result a large majority of the people often think alike. Societal beliefs about the causes of disease, for example, affect the way people treat them. Cultural factors’ affect on health include the perception of disease, the causes of it, and its prevention and cure. Until recently, in Maldivian society, we did not acknowledge stunting as an important health issue, or obesity was seen as a sign of good health. As a result malnutrition was not recognized as a public heath issue. Similarly, prevention from disease included keeping children indoors and hidden from evil eyes. Until today, many societies are struggling to stop harmful practices. Most widely recognized one in some countries is female circumcision. Societal beliefs about the role of women affect women’s health and development. Women are systematically deprived of life saving care. The result: maternal mortality rates remain high in societies where gender inequality is also high. With advances in science, our understanding of the causes and effects of diseases have changed to a great extent. Therefore, one of the most important dimensions of health systems reform has become the substitution of traditional beliefs with modern ones based on proven results verified according to empirical studies. Through public awareness programmes people’s understanding of health has to be changed. For that to happen, collective beliefs about health in society must also change. For example you cannot have an influential cultural institution spreading traditional messages that contradict modern scientific findings. Cultural intervention in health must include training of tradition leaders and spreading the new knowledge among influential institutions within society. We have been talking about, what I call the societal mind and how that affects individual beliefs and values. What is equally important are the physical and institutional manifestations of those beliefs. For example, traditional healers and medicines co-exist side by side with modern health systems. Any new system requires training of its professionals and the development of new institutions to a level that will be acceptable to the beneficiaries. Health service providers at all levels need professional training and recognition and respectable remunerations. In short, new systems of healthcare must replace traditional systems and become part and parcel of the social system. The extent to which health systems reach out to the population depends on how it is organized and what underlying interests determine its social formation. Those who are following the US healthcare reform efforts will understand that health systems like other social systems are affected by material interests. History has taught us that conservative political thought has always represented narrow interests and those of the wealthy. Health systems that are entirely run by private corporations tend to exclude the poor. Universal health coverage, including the poor, will require state interventions as social protection programmes. This is especially so at time of economic distress. Unemployment, reduced wages, and absence of social protection can put excessive stress on families and reduce their ability to excess health services. We also know that at times of hardship women and girls tend to suffer most. Families make decisions to allocate their limited resources according to values they attribute to individual members of their families – men and boys often get preference. In the Maldives, an additional societal factor that affects the quality of health services is population congestion in Male’, and de-population in remote areas. Relatively better but stretched services in Male’ continue to attract more customers from other islands. Continued in flows can cause systems breakdown. Perhaps there is no area where you see the relationship between values, societal circumstances and health of people than in the area of youth health and development. Youth unemployment and lack of opportunities for young people in the Maldives is alienating them and causing societal distress and societal diseases such as drug addiction and mental health. I believe, we must seriously, in all sectors begin to address this issue of youth unemployment and development. Time has come for us to re-examine the provision of health services from a more holistic perspective, taking into account these social dimensions. We can no longer focus entirely on the management of the existing institutions or existing services. Changing hands do not necessarily create additional capacity required to extend services or to improve quality. Therefore, we must assess what the additional requirements for services is and plan them according to demographic changes, population migration, in flow of migrant workers and the changing need for health services. We just heard from the honourable minister that the disease burden and the patterns of diseases are changing in the Maldives with changing socio economic conditions. It is my hope that the new report that we saw on social disparities in health in the Maldives, and this workshop will greatly contribute to strengthening the national health systems. Thank you for inviting me, and once again welcome to those colleagues who have come from abroad. Good luck. Thank you.