Promoting and Protecting the Human Rights of Women and Girls A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions Practical measures that can be taken to protect a victim or a witness who agrees to make a statement to the NHRI include: • Interviewing the person in a place where she feels safe or, if in a place of detention or a shelter, where surveillance is minimal • Asking what security precautions the person believes should be taken at the start and end of the interview • Providing a way for the person to remain in contact with the NHRI following the interview, taking into account issues of accessibility discussed above • Never referring explicitly during interviews to statements made by others and never revealing the identity of other witnesses • In places of detention or shelter, conducting a follow-up visit shortly after the interview.97 NHRIs should ensure that the services of an interpreter are available to those women and girls who require one. Interpreters must be trustworthy and be seen to be trustworthy by the person being interviewed. They must fully understand their role and not exceed it. A woman may prefer to have a female interpreter and this should be established prior to the interview. In some circumstances, a trusted family member of the woman may be able to take on this role. MALDIVES: INVESTIGATION INTO THE CASE OF TWO INNOCENT UNDERAGE GIRLS HELD AT MAAFUSHI PRISON The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives has always closely monitored the State Children’s Centre, both through its mandate as the country’s national preventive mechanism (NPM) and in response to complaints the Commission receives with regard to the Shelter. Both girls at the centre of this investigation had been victims of sexual and physical abuse. They were supposed to be housed at the State Children’s Shelter for psychological and social rehabilitation and treatment. However, the Commission’s investigation found that the two girls escaped from the facility. The Gender Ministry had sought the assistance of the police to find the girls and, when they were found, they were first kept at the police custodial and then transported by boat to the main prison on Maafushi Island with a group of convicted felons. The Commission began its enquiries when it heard that the two girls had escaped from the State Children’s Centre. It sought the assistance of Gender Ministry to find out more about their situation. At first the Commission was told the girls were housed in a residential area of Maafushi Island and were well looked after. However, a team from the Commission went to Maafushi Prison for an independent check and, upon inquiry, it was revealed that the girls were being held in the prison for want of a place to house them. The Commission at once launched an investigation, both publicly and through dialogue, which was eventually picked up by the Parliament. After several deliberations, which included an audience with the President, the girls were moved to an annex at the shelter. The Commission argued that the girls should under no circumstance be placed in the prison because it had no legal mandate to oversee underage girls with no criminal records. In addition, the decision to place the two girls in the prison constituted unlawful disappearance since their whereabouts had been withheld from the Commission. The legal aspect of the case is ongoing but the two girls are now in legally-obligated state care. 97 60 APF, APT and OHCHR, Preventing Torture: An Operational Guide for National Human Rights Institutions, 2010, p. 45.