Malé, Maldives – The Civil Service Law has been amended with the addition that convicted child sex offenders will not be eligible for jobs involving children.
The amendment of the law was sponsored by Member of Parliament representing Addu Meedhoo constituency Rozaina Adam. Before the amendment, there was no such condition in the criteria in selecting civil servants.
While the committee has passed the bill of the amendment, a letter is to be added to Article 41 of the Civil Service Act. The new clause states that individuals who have been convicted of children sex abuse are not eligible for jobs that require communicating with children.
Article 41(a) of the Civil Service Act states that individuals “must not have during the past 5 years been convicted of an offence for which a hadd is prescribed in Islam or an offence of theft or fraud or misappropriation or treason”.
Article 41(d) of the Civil Service Act (introduced amendment) states that with exception to Article 41(a), convicted child sex offenders are not to be given jobs that would require them to communicate with children.