Foreign Secretary Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed has yesterday participated in the 10th Anniversary Ministerial Meeting of the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC). The virtual meeting was hosted by the Government of Finland, Chair of the FOC, under the theme, “Openness, Accessibility and inclusion – Human Rights Online in the 2020’s”.
In his remarks, the Foreign Secretary congratulated the FOC for a successful 10 year anniversary and noted that the meeting was a testament of the strength of the Coalition. He reaffirmed the commitment of the Government of Maldives to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. He further elaborated on the efforts undertaken by the current administration to promote freedom of expression and opinion.
In this regard, Foreign Secretary Ghafoor highlighted the repealing of the Anti-Defamation Act in 2018, and the reduction in Internet prices across the Maldives. He concluded his remarks by reiterating the commitment of the Maldives to work within the FOC to promote internet freedom and to protect and promote human rights online.
The FOC is a leading group of countries working together to advance internet freedom and promote the human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since its founding conference in 2011, the FOC has grown from 15 members to 34 today.
