OFFICE OF HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS STARTS IMPLEMENTATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS PROJECT IN YEMEN

30 August 2001


The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has started the implementation of a human rights technical cooperation project in Yemen after High Commissioner Mary Robinson announced the appointment of a human rights officer to join the UN Country Team in the capital Sana'a.

The human rights officer will function as the international legal advisor and specialist in children=s rights for 12 months during which the project will address children in conflict with the law through the establishment of a national mechanism for the administration of juvenile justice.

Under this project, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in close coordination and collaboration with the UN Country Team in Sana'a, will provide technical assistance to the Government of Yemen for the development, formulation and implementation of appropriate juvenile justice legislation which would incorporate provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other relevant international standards. Activities foreseen in the project include assistance in the elaboration of regulatory procedures for dealing with children in conflict with the law, various seminars and training sessions, provision of training manuals on international human rights standards to law enforcement officials, and promoting the inclusion of children=s rights in university curricula.

The project has been developed by the Office of the High Commissioner in consultation and coordination with the Government of Yemen, and constitutes the first phase of cooperation in the framework of the AMutual Agreement to Cooperate in the Development and Implementation of Comprehensive Programmes for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Yemen@ which was signed by the High Commissioner and the Government of Yemen on 13 February 2001.


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