Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of  the human rights situation in the Maldives, and what consideration they are giving to immediate targeted sanctions by the UK and at a EU level on senior officials and key supporters of the government of the Maldives, including freezing assets and travel bans.

The UK is concerned about the decline in respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of law in the Maldives. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), visited the Maldives on 17 and 18 January and expressed these concerns to President Yameen and other key members of the Maldivian government including Foreign Minister Dunya.

We will continue to apply pressure through a range of bilateral and multilateral means to bring about the positive changes we all want to see in the Maldives.