HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE TAKES UP THIRD PERIODIC REPORT OF YEMEN

Human Rights Committee
75th session
17 July 2002
Afternoon




Yemen Has Undergone Great Changes Since Unification,
Delegation Says



The Human Rights Committee this afternoon began its consideration of the third periodic report of Yemen by questioning a Government delegation on the status of women, female genital mutilation, and torture, among other things.
The report was introduced by Abdulkader Quahtan, Member of the Subcommittee of the Supreme National Committee for Human Rights of Yemen, who said that his country has undergone great changes and important results have been achieved since unification on 22 May 1990. He said that the democratic process has been strengthened, and a peaceful exchange of political power has been established.
Mr. Quahtan said that since unification, Yemen had carried out two rounds of legislative elections in 1993 and 1997; a presidential election had taken place to elect the country's President; and in 2001, municipal elections had been carried out. In all the elections, international observers had overseen the manner in which the voting took place.
Over the course of their consideration of the report, a number of Experts expressed concern about the persistence of inequality between men and women; the practice of female genital mutilation; the allegation of cases of torture; the practice of amputation of limbs; and the maintenance of capital punishment.
The Yemen delegation is also made up of Ali Naser Mahdi, Azal Abdullah Mohamed, Suleiman Mohamed Tabrizi, Members of the Subcommittee of the Supreme National Committee for Human Rights. Zaid Mohamed Hajar of the Permanent Mission of Yemen in Geneva was also present.
Yemen is among the 149 States parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Committee, as a monitoring body, periodically examines reports submitted by States parties on their promotion and protection of civil and political rights.
The Committee will continue its consideration of Yemen's report when it meets again at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 18 July.

Report of Yemen
The third periodic report, which is contained in document CCPR/C/YEM/2001/3, enumerates the measures taken by the State party with the view of implementing the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which it acceded 13 years ago. The report stresses that the Covenant has played a leading role in the continuing efforts to promote public awareness of human rights which, together with public freedoms, form the basis of democratic society. Yemenis are free to work, express opinions and ideas, own property, travel and have political affiliations. For them, freedom is both created and bestowed by God. The freedom of the individual derives from the freedom of the community; people have equal rights and duties and are equal before the law and in the eyes of the authorities.
The report notes that Yemen would find it difficult to guarantee the full enjoyment of human rights without experiencing some problems -- at the present time at least -- since the laws aimed at guaranteeing fundamental human rights are still in the process of being applied and implemented. Notwithstanding the political will to promote the enjoyment of human rights, Yemen has encountered a variety of problems, including the political unrest which followed shortly after the achievement of unification and led to fighting.
The report also notes that it is impossible to ignore the fact that the institutional structure in Yemen suffers from organizational and operational difficulties as a natural consequence of the burdensome legacy inherited from the totalitarian regime of the days prior to unification. In the field of human rights, the structure of the organs of the judiciary was problematic, as a result of which preparation of the judicial reform programme submitted as part of the Government programme of 1997, which is now being implemented, came to assume significance.
With regard to article one of the Covenant, the report says that Yemen regards the principle of the right of peoples to self-determination as one of the key principles on which foreign policy is based. Not only does it believe in and support this right, but it has constantly backed the call for its realization at the international level, a position which it continues to maintain.

Presentation of Rights
ABDULKADER QUAHTAN, Member of the Subcommittee of the Supreme National Committee for Human Rights of Yemen, said that his country has undergone great changes and important results have been achieved since unification on 22 May 1990. The democratic process has been deepened, pluralism strengthened, and a peaceful exchange of political power has been established.
Mr. Quahtan said that since unification, Yemen had carried out two rounds of legislative elections in 1993 and 1997; a presidential election had taken place to elect the country's President; and in 2001, municipal elections had been carried out. In all cases, international observers had overseen the manner in which the voting took place.
He went on to say that the country counted on the collaboration of 2,800 non-governmental organizations operating around the country in perfect freedom.
Great attention had been given to the condition of Yemeni women and to upgrading their status within the society, Mr. Quahtan said, adding that they were present in parliament and in decision-making positions. Women served as ministers and ambassadors, and participated in the socio-economic development of the new Yemen.
Mr. Quahtan said that Yemen had also given great attention to human rights and international cooperation in that field. All international treaties constituted part of the country's domestic legislation and were superior to the domestic legal provisions. A Supreme National Committee on Human Rights had been established to overlook the implementation of human rights treaties. The Committee was endeavouring to create a deep understanding of human rights within the society. The Committee, acting as an ombudsman, received complaints and communications for its consideration.
Yemen had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights when High Commissioner Mary Robinson visited the country, the official said. The memorandum was aimed at improving cooperation with the Office.
In conclusion, Mr. Quahtan said that there were some allegations levied against his country for political reasons. However, the Government had properly investigated all allegations and had rendered the truth in perfect objectivity.

Response of Yemeni Delegation
The Yemeni delegation provided answers to questions prepared by Committee Experts in advance on the Constitutional and legal framework within which the Covenant was implemented; equity of the sexes; the principle of non-discrimination and protection of minorities; states of emergency; the right to life; and protection against torture and degrading treatment.
On the status of the Supreme National Committee for Human Rights, the members of the delegation said it was an official governmental body, comprising a number of Ministers and senior Government officials coming from ministries having to do with human rights affairs. Cases of human rights violations were discussed by the Committee. The Committee had Subcommittees composed of Government officials who dealt with human rights and who reported back to their respective ministries. There were also consultative committees representing members of civil society, such as the trade unions.
Concerning the measures the State party had taken with a view to ensuring equality of the sexes, the Yemeni delegation said the rights of women were guaranteed by the country's Constitution. The law required equal treatment of both sexes either in the society or within the family. The system of marriage was based on consent and a wife could not be the "prisoner of her husband". Women in Yemen felt that their rights were well respected.
The rights and duties of spouses were defined by the law. Wives living under polygamy enjoyed equal rights and each wife had the right to use her own property as she wished, the delegation said. A wife, whose husband failed to fulfil his responsibilities, among other things, could apply for divorce. The law on inheritance was based on Shari'a -- the Islamic law -- and specified that women had the right to receive their part without any abuse.
In the event of divorce, children had the right to choose the parent with whom they would live, the delegation said. In court decisions on custody, the well-being of children was given a priority.
On the issue of ensuring compatibility between the early age of marriage for girls and compulsory education, the delegation said that it was true that girls got married in Yemen earlier than in other societies. The number of girls enrolled in primary schools had increased in past years. However, there was a decline in the number of girls enrolled in post-primary education.
On the effective participation of women in political life and in the public and private sectors, the delegation said that there was no door closed to women in Yemen. They were holding high political responsibilities at the national level and served as ambassadors. Yet despite the many enormous efforts made by the Government to achieve the advancement of women, various obstacles and difficulties still remained, all of which were attributed to social and cultural heritage and the economic standards.
The State party was asked if it had plans to abolish the rule whereby a wife might leave the conjugal home only with the authorization of her husband. The delegation said that women were not imprisoned at home; they could go out to work, to visit friends and to carry out other business. If a women was locked in her house by her husband, she could sue her husband and that could be a cause for divorce.
Asked about the legal and practical consequences of the declaration of the state of emergency in 1994, the delegation said that a 30-day state of emergency had been declared due to the subversive activities of some separatist groups. The decree on the state of emergency was first adopted by the legislative body. The consequences were limited: the state of emergency did not undermine the rights and freedoms of citizens. The decree was discarded once the cause for its declaration had been done away with. The decree on amnesty was necessary to bring the situation back to normal.
Yemen was among those States parties that had not signed the second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant, the delegation said. However, there existed a guarantee for life and security of citizens. The death penalty was applied in Yemen within the strictest limits and in accordance with the provisions of the Islamic Shari'a. The Code of Criminal Procedure in force guaranteed that persons sentenced to that penalty enjoyed various safeguards, including the right to request pardon. Before such sentences were carried out, they were submitted to the President of the Republic who used his good offices with the prosecuting party with a view to commutation of the sentence.
Answering a question concerning public executions and the public display of the bodies, the delegation said that only a limited number of persons attended executions, including magistrates and families of the victim, depending on the kind of crime committed. However, one execution had been carried out in public because the man's crimes related to the massacre of persons at the medical school.
The sentences and practice of amputation were considered to be part of the system of Yemen, which was based on the Shari'a, the delegation said. Although such issues should not be discussed in this Committee, the practice was limited to certain cases. No such amputations of limbs had been carried out in modern history.
No extrajudicial executions were taking place in Yemen by any governmental agents, the delegation said. Outside the legal framework, executions were not carried out in the territory. With regard to allegations of disappearances, the Government had taken measures to compensate the families of the victims who reportedly disappeared during the conflict. Acts of torture were prohibited during investigations by police officers. Any act of torture committed by prison officials was a crime that was punishable by law. In recent years, an accused person had died as result of the torture to which he was subjected to by three security officers; the three officers had been found guilty and had been discharged from service. The case had resulted in the imprisonment of the director of security for a term of 10 years, and the payment of $ 19,000 in blood money to the victim's family. The two other officers were sentenced to five years imprisonment.

Questions by Experts
An Expert lauded the Yemeni Government for its achievements and the work it had carried out in the implementation of the provisions of the Covenant. The fact that Yemen had ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights without reservations was testimony to the State party's efforts in discharging its international obligations. The prompt submission of the report was also laudable. The delegation was asked to provide detailed information on the status of the Covenant. There were situations where international treaties were not superior to domestic legislation. Did the courts in Yemen strictly apply and interpret articles of international treaties?
The Constitution recognized that Shari'a was a source of law. For Muslims, there were different ways of reading the Shari'a, depending on the different schools of thoughts. When one quoted the Koran with regard to women, it did not treat women unfairly. "A man could have four wives, if he could treat them all equally, and he cannot treat them equally," the Koran said.
Another Expert said that there was no de facto equality of men and women in Yemen. The number of illiterate women was higher than among men; the percentage of enrolled girls in primary and secondary schools was less than half of the number of boys at the same levels; and women were concentrated in low-paying employment. The Expert also asked about the function of the Supreme National Committee for Human Rights; how allegations of human rights violations were treated; how individual complaints were handled; and about the results of complaints lodged by individuals.
Echoing similar concern about the functioning of the Supreme National Committee, which also functioned as an Ombudsman, another Expert asked for more clarity on that institution. The fact that the Committee was composed of Ministers could not make the Committee independent of the Government in dealing with human rights cases.
Another Expert said that the practice of polygamy was in contravention of the provisions of the Covenant that provided for the equality of men and women. Much was expected from the Government to affirm the rights of women and to upgrade their status in the society. Turning to terrorist activities in Yemen, which had damaged a US warship, the Expert asked how many persons were currently in prison in connection with that attack; if they had been tried; and if due process had been ensured. The Expert also asked about allegations of torture in the country.
An Expert said that female genital mutilation was a form of torture directed against women, particularly those living in the coastal areas. With regard to measures against terrorism, a number of persons had been arrested in that connection. How many persons were detained in relation to terrorist acts, and how many of them had been sentenced to death? There had also been allegations that people were deported from Yemen without due regard to the human rights situation of the individuals and their destinations.
An Expert said that he regretted that seven years after the previous report of Yemen was considered, the Committee had to repeated the same concerns it had expressed in its 1995 concluding observations and recommendations. The status of women was influenced by tradition and culture which rendered them inferior to men. Serious consideration had to be given to that issue.



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