Can freedom still ring around the world? Yes! Discover how the Maldives went from a thirty-year old autocracy with widespread human rights abuses, to a vibrant Muslim democracy with strong human rights safeguards.
 
How does freedom ring for religious minorities in a Muslim country? Dr. Ahmed Shaheed will tell you. Listen to this week’s video podcast to learn the fascinating story of how change took place over the past three decades, and what that new freedom means for people who were once persecuted for their beliefs.

Watch the interview on Hardwired's YouTube channel here: bit.ly/Ahmedinterview

Dr. Ahmed Shaheed is an internationally recognized expert on foreign policy, international diplomacy, democratization, and human rights reform, especially in Muslim States. In 2016, he was appointed as the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. In 2011, he was appointed as the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the fourth Special Rapporteur to Iran.  Dr. Shaheed has twice held the Office of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Maldives, a position he used to promote human rights standards and norms. During his time in government, Dr. Shaheed played a leading role in the Maldives democratic transition and in its human rights reform process; a process which saw the country transformed from a thirty-year old autocracy with widespread human rights abuses, to a vibrant Muslim democracy with strong human rights safeguards and which, in 2010, became a Member of the United Nations Human Rights Council with a record number of votes.

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