The Maldives has reiterated its call for the recognition of an independent and sovereign State of Palestine and for Palestine to become a full member of the United Nations.
Addressing the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, Vice President Hussain Mohamed Latheef said the right to a sovereign future must belong to all, arguing that this right is being denied most severely to the Palestinian people.
“The right to a sovereign future must belong to all, and nowhere is that right more brutally denied than in Palestine,” the Vice President said.
He described Israel’s actions against Palestinians as genocide and war crimes, and said the country’s military attacks across the region have also violated the sovereignty of other states.
“Security cannot be built by exporting insecurity,” he said, adding that no country should demand respect for its own sovereignty while violating the sovereignty of others.
The Vice President said condemnation alone was not enough and called on member states and the United Nations to consider what more could be done to end the violence.
He argued that the international legal framework already provides the necessary rules, but said the problem lies in their unequal application.
“International law cannot bind the weak and bend for the powerful,” he said, calling for the same rules and standards to apply without exception.
The Vice President called for an end to what he described as Israel’s genocide in Gaza, the occupation of Palestine and other territories, and illegal settlements.
He also called for humanitarian assistance to reach Palestinians safely, rapidly and at scale, while urging respect for and implementation of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions.
For Palestinians, he said, a sovereign future means freedom, dignity, self-determination and the right to live securely in their own state.
The Maldives, he said, would continue to stand with the Palestinian people and their right to such a future.
He reiterated the Maldives’ call for the recognition of an independent and sovereign State of Palestine based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
“If this organisation is to restore trust and deliver for all, Palestine must become a full member of the United Nations,” he said.
The position reiterated by the Vice President is consistent with the Maldives’ longstanding policy on Palestine.
Earlier this year In July, the Maldives called for recognition of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, while calling for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands and stronger protection for the rights of Palestinians.
In September 2026, the Maldives also reiterated its opposition to the continued expansion of Israeli settlements and reaffirmed support for Palestinian self-determination and the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.
The government has also repeatedly called for Palestine to receive full UN membership. In April 2024, the Maldives called on the UN Security Council to support Palestine’s admission as a full member state, while reiterating its support for a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
President Dr Mohamed Muizzu made the same call during his address to the 79th UN General Assembly in September 2024, saying Palestine should become a full member of the United Nations and reiterating support for an independent Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The Maldives has therefore continued to place Palestinian statehood, self-determination and full UN membership among its longstanding positions at the United Nations.
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