Maldives: UNODC delivers specialized drones to Maldives Police Service

Male, Maldives/17 July 2024: UNODC provided Maldives Police Service (MPS) with one aerial and one underwater drone, within the framework of the project “Support to Addressing the Risk of Terrorism and to Increasing Security in the Maldives”, carried out with funding from the European Union. The handover ceremony took place at the Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology, in the presence of the Minister of Homeland Security and Technology, H.E. Ali Ihusaan.

The items will assist MPS to prevent and disrupt terrorist incidents in Maldives’ internal waters and territorial sea. In particular, through the use of the drones, MPS’ Marine Police will benefit from strengthened capacities to monitor large maritime areas more effectively and efficiently than traditional methods.

The equipment will contribute to ensure safety and security of Marine Police’s officers by allowing a remote performance of their duties when identifying hazardous conducts or material potentially linked to terrorist threats.  In the same vein, they will allow a quick and real-time situational assessment, enabling officers to respond more swiftly to incidents, including during time-sensitive instances such as search and rescue operations.

During the handover ceremony, Minister Ali Ihusaan and the Head of Office of UNODC Programme Office in Maldives, Mr. Enrico Boninsegna, signed an end-user agreement for the use of the drones, setting forth the minimum guidelines for their use. The agreement had been developed in fulfilment of the United Nations Human Rights Due Diligence Policy.

The signing showcases UNODC and the Government of Maldives’ joint commitment to ensure that technical assistance tools are used in manner which is grounded in human rights standards. For that purpose, the agreement outlined minimum conditions for the use of the drones as related to the right to privacy, storage of data, prohibition of discrimination, and the principle of proportionality.

UNODC will continue its assistance to Maldivian authorities in their efforts to prevent and counter terrorism in full compliance with international laws and provisions, and human rights standards.

The activity contributed to SDG 16 and SDG 17: https://sdg-tracker.org/ 

(Supported by the European Union)