In his inaugural address of the training programme for the ministerial human rights focal points on mainstreaming human rights, Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed spoke on the importance of the role of the government in promoting and protecting the rights of the people.

Speaking at Dharubaaruge this morning to inaugurate training programme organised by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM), the Vice President said protecting and ensuring the rights of the people should be the key priority of any government.

Furthermore, the Vice President said ensuring the rights of the people prescribed in the Constitution was a responsible of the government.

He said protecting the human rights of each and every individual was the main objective of all the policies of the current government.

Speaking in this regard, Vice President Dr Waheed underscored ensuring people’s rights involved incorporating and mainstreaming human rights thinking in all levels of the government in policy making and implementation, and state institutions. He added that the government and other institutions should also ensure equitable distribution of benefits their programmes and plans among all citizens.

In his address, the Vice President identified accepting the principles of human rights as a vital step to mainstream human rights in all areas of the society.

The objective of two-day training programme organised by HRCM is to provide necessary training for human rights focal points at all ministries to incorporate principles of human rights in both policy making and implementation.