COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONCLUDES REVIEW OF YEMEN'S REPORTS ON COMPLIANCE WITH CONVENTION

CERD
61st session
13 August 2002
Morning


Yemen's Population Is Homogenous and there is
No Racial Discrimination in the Country, Delegation says



The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this morning concluded its consideration of the eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth periodic reports of Yemen on how that country was giving effect to the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Yuri A. Reshetov, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur to the reports of Yemen, said in a concluding statement that since the Government of Yemen was implementing the articles of the International Convention, including ones related to the right to participate in elections, it should withdraw its reservations to the treaty. Concerning the fight against terrorism, he said that the measures undertaken by the State party should not violate the human rights of individuals.
Over the course of their response to the Experts questions, the delegation of Yemen spoke of the homogenous nature of the population. The State religion was Islam, the official language was Arabic, and there was harmony and peace among all sectors of the population, including the tribal groups in the rural areas. The allegation that people of African origin were discriminated against was not true. There was no form of racial discrimination in Yemen.
The Yemeni delegation said that the Government strongly condemned all acts of terrorism, including the 11 September events that took place in the United States. The Government had adopted a series of measures to fight acts of terrorism.
The following Committee Experts also participated in the debate: Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr, Mohamed Aly Thiam, Mario Jorge Yutzis and Nourredine Amir.
The Committee will issue its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Yemen towards the end of its three-week session to be concluded on 23 August.
Yemen is among the 162 States parties to the International Convention and as such it is obligated to present periodic reports to the Committee on how it is giving effect to the provisions of the treaty. A five-member Yemeni delegation was on hand to present the reports and to answer questions raised by Committee Experts.
After adjourning its consideration of the reports of Yemen, the Committee discussed organizational matters contained in document CERD/C/61/Misc.4, and debated a suggestion that initial and periodic reports by States parties should be no more than 32 pages long.
When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will first take up communications in private and then organizational matters in a public meeting.

Response of Yemen
The Yemeni delegation said that in the field of human rights, Yemen had endeavoured to achieve the greatest level of possible progress. Yemen had 18 million inhabitants and its population was homogeneous in terms of tradition and culture. There was no racial discrimination in the society. Although there had been some tribal conflicts occurring in the past, they were settled in accordance with traditional reconciliation mechanisms.
With regard to the reservations declared by Yemen on articles of the Convention, the Government was studying how it could withdraw some of them, the delegation said. The law on elections did not prohibit local and international observers from being present during the elections.
The nationality issue had been settled by the new law; now a foreigner who married a Yemeni woman had the right to be naturalized and to obtain Yemeni nationality.
Concerning the question of inheritance, the delegation said that it was governed by the divine law of the Sharia'. The Islamic law was fully applied in questions related to inheritance.
The Government had carried out a series of development projects for people living in the rural areas where the level of development had been low, the delegation said. Schools and clinics had been constructed; and people were participating in the development process of their regions.
The allegation that people of African origin were discriminated against was not true, the delegation said. There was no form of racial discrimination in Yemen.
Islamic teaching prohibited the forcing of people to follow Islam, the delegation said. Those who already embraced Islam should respect their religion and follow the guidance of the Islamic teachings. Yemen had been hosting refugees from Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia, the delegation said. Despite its limited resources, the Government had hosted those refugees for a long period.
Women constituted 48 per cent of the working force in Yemen, the delegation said. The Government had created jobs for women and encouraged them to fully participate in the development process. Credits had been facilitated for women to run their own projects.
Since Yemen was an exporter of labourers, there were only a few migrant workers in the country, the delegation said. Any discrimination or xenophobic attitudes against foreign workers were therefore non-existent.
Every year on 10 December, the people of Yemen celebrated a national human rights day during which awareness-raising programmes were carried out, the delegation said. All international human rights conventions ratified by Yemen were made known to the population.
The Government of Yemen had shouldered a great economic responsibility during the process of making the two States into one, the delegation said. The border agreements between Eritrea, Saudi Arabia and Oman had created a peaceful situation for the population.
The actions of some groups had nothing to do with the official policy of Yemen, the delegation said. The accusation against Islam was not acceptable; it was a tolerant religion. Islam and democracy were indivisible. Yemen had chosen Islam as its official religion for many centuries, and had made it the source of its laws.

Questions and Comments by Experts
An Expert said that he could not agree with delegation' s affirmation that there was no racial discrimination. One could not fully ascertain the non-existence of racial discrimination. There were different tribal or ethnic groups living in the country. The "Al-Ahdam" were tribes of African descent; they were different from the rest of the population; and they spoke a different language other than Arabic. He said he was happy to see a high-level woman member of the delegation from an Arab and Islamic country.
Another Expert asked about the roles played by the customary institutions within the society. What were the principles of customary laws, Islamic and positive laws in dealing with various situations, including the nomadic population. In Yemen, Islam was the source of laws, which was a good thing. Islam was a tolerant religion and it could not be associated with terrorism.
An Expert asked about the legislative measures undertaken by the Government of Yemen following the 11 September incidents in the United States. He also asked if the Government of Yemen intended to make declarations under article 14 of the Convention, which was to recognize the competence of Committee to receive and consider communications from individuals or groups of individuals claiming to be victims of a violation by a State party of any of the rights set forth in the Convention.

Response by Yemen
The delegation said that tribes in Yemen were not ethnic groups. There were no nomadic tribes in the country. There had been no disputes among different tribes since the restoration of the State. People lived in harmony and in solidarity, making up Yemen's social fabric. The various tribes had the same ancestors and each tribe was considered as a united family. The provisions of the Convention were full integrated in the Yemeni laws; there was no discrimination between men and women. Any body who lived in Yemen for five years could apply for nationality. Children could have the nationality of their father, if he was a foreigner, or Yemeni nationality.
There was no ethnic discord in Yemen, the delegation said. Since Yemen traditionally had been a place for migration, there had been different people living alongside the Yemenites, and that situation did not incite any form of discrimination. Although the official religion was Islam, the
society had been tolerant to other religions. The current challenge was to give health and educational services to the population. The Government had been consolidating its achievements in all aspects, including human rights.

Concluding Statement
YURI A. RESHETOV, the Committee Expert who served as country rapporteur to the reports of Yemen, said that the dialogue with the delegation had provided information on the work of a civilized government aimed at solving the problems arising in the implementation of the provisions of the Convention. He appreciated the frankness and the self-criticism of the delegation.
He said that he did not agree with the information provided to the Committee by some NGOs concerning the root of the conflict between tribes. The dialogue had created an atmosphere of understanding. He hoped that some of the points raised during the discussion would be reflected in legislation.
With regard to the reservations, Mr Reshetov said that the delegation had provided information on how those articles of the Convention to which the State party had made reservations were implemented in reality. Why then was the Government not removing those reservations?
Since Sharia' was the source of Yemeni laws, what were the laws applied to the right of inheritance and divorce of the non-Muslims living in the country? No information was supplied on that issue.
Concerning the fight against terrorism, the measures undertaken by the State party should not violate the human rights of individuals.

Delegation' s Concluding Statement
The delegation said that there were no laws other than the Sharia' to resolve problems arising from divorce or inheritance. Only the country' s Islamic laws were applicable to all situations.
Yemen strongly condemned terrorist activities, and supporting such acts was not part of its policy, the delegation said. Even before the 11 September incidents, the Government had introduced measures to fight terrorism. The 11 September events had adversely affected Yemen and other countries in the region. Students studying in the United States had had to come back to Yemen because of the conditions created in that country against people of Arab origin. Yemen believed that everything should not be influenced by one event, although the incident had been grave. Yemen believed in peace, and respected human rights.



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