COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE BEGINS REVIEW OF REPORT FROM YEMEN

17 November 2003



The Committee against Torture this morning began its consideration of the initial report of Yemen on how that country implements the provisions of the Convention against Torture.

The report was introduced by Mohamed Al Fisail, Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Legal Affairs of Yemen, who said Yemen had established the Ministry of Human Rights at the beginning of 2003 which aimed to promote and respect human rights and to revitalize the mechanisms for their protection and promotion. The Government worked in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other international organizations to combat torture. Towards this effort they had been distributing educational materials and had included human rights in the curricula of public schools, universities, and police and military institutions. They had also organized seminars and workshops.

Committee Expert Peter Thomas Burns, who served as Rapporteur for the Yemen report, acknowledged that Yemen had ratified six primary human rights conventions. He congratulated the Government for recently releasing 91 prisoners and urged it to consider releasing the remaining prisoners. Among other things, Mr. Burns asked for information about the judicial process in Yemen, the situation of prisons, and interrogation and extradition procedures. He specifically asked whether there was an extradition treaty with the United States and cited the case of the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000.

Serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report of Yemen was Committee Expert Andreas Mavrommatis who asked for information and details on the content of training courses on human rights and on whether Yemeni doctors were trained to recognize signs of torture. He also asked what the arrangements were for the protection of witnesses in general and for an explanation of the compensation policy of Yemen by providing examples and statistics.

The Yemeni delegation also included Sulaiman Tabrizi, Head of the Department of International Reports in the Ministry of Human Rights, Zaid Mohamed Hajar, Charge d’affaires, and Abdullatif Mohamed Alduraibi, Third Secretary in the Permanent Mission of Yemen to the United Nations Office in Geneva.

Yemen, as one of the 134 States parties to the Convention against Torture, must provide the Committee with periodic reports on efforts to put the Convention’s provisions into effect.

The delegation will return to answer the Committee’s questions at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, 18 November. The Committee’s formal conclusions and recommendations on the report will be issued at 10 a.m. on 21 November.

The Committee will reconvene at 3 p.m. this afternoon to begin its review of an initial report of Lithuania.

Initial Report of Yemen

The report (CAT/C/16/Add.10) reviews the efforts to implement the Convention, considering the steps taken on an article-by-article basis in relation with the Convention. It expresses Yemen’s endeavors to combat all forms of torture and notes the administrative, legislative and judicial steps taken to protect and provide full and adequate safeguards for human rights.

One of the most important measures which Yemen has taken, the report states, was the establishment of the mechanism known as the Higher National Committee for Human Rights and its reorganization. The most important mechanisms and measures which have been put into place with respect to the Convention against Torture are shaped around the treatment of prisoners, protection of persons in detention, a declaration on the protection of persons from being subjected to torture, a code of conduct for law enforcement officials and principles of medical ethics.

Under the Yemeni Constitution, the practice of physical and psychological torture is prohibited, as is the extraction of confessions by force during investigations, the report states. Torture and inhumane treatment at the time of arrest or during a period of detention is also prohibited. The report mentions the fact that the Constitution, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Police Corps Act each contain numerous provisions which guarantee the freedoms of citizens, safeguard their dignity and security and prevent acts of torture.

Presentation of Report

MOHAMED AL FISAIL, Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Legal Affairs of Yemen, said that when Yemen adhered to the Convention in November 1991, it had reviewed its legislative framework in order to comply with the Convention against Torture. The Government of Yemen attached great importance to the issues of human rights and had established the Ministry of Human Rights at the beginning of 2003. The aim of the Ministry was to promote and respect human rights and to revitalize the mechanisms for its protection and promotion. The Ministry also looked into complaints lodged by individuals and institutions and examined them within their legislative framework. Torture in all of its forms was prohibited in Yemen and constituted a crime of a very grave nature. Any confession taken by means of torture was null and void before the law and the right to a fair compensation by a victim of torture was a guaranteed right under Yemeni law.

The Minister said the Government of Yemen was responsible for dealing with all practices of torture subjected to individuals and that trials and investigations took place without any interference. The Government worked in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other international organizations to combat torture. Towards this effort they had been distributing educational materials and had included human rights in the curricula of public schools, universities, and police and military institutions. They had also organized seminars and workshops.

The Government, Mr. Al Fisail said, attached special importance to the reforming of its legal system to rebuild and develop its capacity to guarantee and protect human rights. It was monitoring the conditions of prisons and detention centres to make sure that prisoners and detainees were held under legal conditions. Countrywide visits to prisons were conducted to examine cases eligible for parole and also to follow up on prisoners who had been ordered to pay heavy fines. The State looked into the possibility of paying these fines in order to release the prisoners.

Discussion

Serving as Rapporteur for the report of Yemen was Committee Expert PETER THOMAS BURNS who said among other things that he was impressed by Yemen’s legislative changes and particularly impressed by the establishment of the Ministry for Human Rights. He acknowledged that Yemen had ratified six primary human rights conventions, yet he pointed out that the report was nearly 10 years late. He congratulated Yemen for recently releasing 91 prisoners and urged the Government to consider releasing the remaining prisoners. Much of the information he had received was from reports from non-governmental organizations, particularly Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the sisters of Arabic Forum.

Asking about the judicial system of Yemen, Mr. Burns wondered who appointed members of the judiciary, how were they appointed, who removed them and what were their terms of tenure. What were the differences between ordinary prisons and military prisons. Did Yemen have security courts and what was their jurisdiction? Did Yemeni law have writ available analogous to habeas corpus.

Turning to specific articles in the Convention, Mr. Burns asked for Yemen’s definition of torture and whether it was a monistic or dualistic state with regard to applying treaties into domestic law. He then asked for an explanation why public executions, floggings and amputations were not in breach of the Convention and asked how these practices were carried out and at which rate.

The Expert then asked for information on their interrogation procedures and for Yemen’s position on detention, specifically, whether prisoners were held incommunicado and in secrecy as NGO reports suggested. He also requested information on what investigations had taken place and what results they had produced in terms of sanctions against those who might have committed torture during these interrogations.

Turning to extradition procedures, the Rapportuer asked whether Yemen had extradition treaties or if it was carrying them out on an ad hoc basis. He specifically asked whether there was an extradition treaty with the United States and cited the case of the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000.

Mr. Burns asked for details on how many charges had been brought against police officers with regard to alleged torture and what steps the Government had taken to deal with the situation of female inmates having to be escorted by male prison guards. He also asked whether tribal chiefs had there own prisons and what role the central authority had over them.

Lastly, Mr. Burns asked for comments from the delegation on the reported cases of kidnapping and hostage taking which included the seizure of relatives to put pressure on the Government, and which were sometimes carried out by police officers themselves.

Serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report of Yemen was Committee Expert ANDREAS MAVROMMATIS who expressed his satisfaction with the technical cooperation between Yemen and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Co-Rapporteur asked for information and details on the content of training courses on human rights and on whether Yemeni doctors were trained to recognize signs of torture. At what point were detainees allowed to see their lawyer, doctors, families etc.? He then asked for general information on investigation procedures and specifically whether there were investigations carried out in the case of the USS Cole.

Mr. Mavrommatis asked what the arrangements were for the protection of witnesses in general. He requested an explanation of the compensation policy of Yemen by providing examples and statistics.

The Expert then asked about the general conditions of prisons, whether there were isolation cells and he requested a description of the conditions and length of time one might spend in solitary confinement.

Other Committee Experts also put questions to the delegation related to the prison population, the amount of time in detention before trial, and the conditions for juvenile and women inmates. They specifically asked for information on whether women were subjected to corporal punishments and if there were geographical statistics available to that effect. One Expert asked specifically where female juveniles were kept, how they were guarded and protected and for information on allegations that women inmates were abused by male guards and whether there was monitoring in prisons for such abuses. Another Expert asked whether it was common practice in Yemen to display a body after execution. Another specific question dealt with the policy of prison transfer when complaints were made about torture.

Lastly, an Expert asked for clarification on two specific cases pertaining to the beating, rape and death of one individual and the extradition of another to Oman in 1998.