By Brendan Sweeney
The Yemeni delegation - headed by Dr Huda Ali Alban, Minister for Human Rights - was complimented by the UPR working group under the Human Rights Council on its presentation of the national report.
The Yemeni government was also praised because it had recently established a human rights ministry, which is the first of its kind in the Arab region. The majority of the 50-60 speakers during the review session encouraged Yemen to take the next step and establish an independent national human rights institution in accordance with the Paris Principles. The Yemeni delegation responded positively to this and most of the other recommendations.
During the review session, member and observing states also recommended that Yemen protect and respect freedom of expression and the rights of human rights defenders. Several recommendations proposed too that the Yemeni government remove restrictions on journalists’ ability to criticize government policy without fear of intimidation, repression, imprisonment or threats.
Other recommendations concerned fair trial. It was proposed that Yemen take measures to ensure that counter-terrorism efforts be applied in accordance with its human rights obligations. The Yemeni state’s use of solitary confinement was criticized and the working group recommended that the Yemeni government improve prison conditions and allow international human rights organizations, in particular the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), access to prisons and detention centres.
Other proposals included raising the legal minimum age of criminal responsibility, guaranteeing standards for a fair trial under all circumstances and the implementation of strict judicial measures on corruption and bribery.
A large number of the recommendations dealt with gender issues and children's rights. For instance, the working group asked the Yemeni state to prohibit the practice of forced early marriages of young girls, including "tourist" or temporary marriages, and asked for measures to prevent the smuggling of children. Yemen was also encouraged to stop sentencing children to any form of physical punishment, to abolish corporal punishment and to continue to implement measures to protect disadvantaged children.
The recommendations not supported by the Yemeni delegation concerned amendment of the Personal Status Law and Citizenship Law to prevent discrimination and violence against women as well as recommendations concerning the abolition of capital punishment.
A summary of the review as well as the recommendations formulated during the interactive dialogue constitute the outcome of the review. This was adopted in the UPR working group on 13 May 2009. A final adoption of the "outcome” will take place in the forthcoming plenary meeting of the Human Rights Council in June. In accordance with the guidelines of the UPR the Yemeni state will at that stage be obliged to start the implementation of the recommendations in cooperation with relevant stakeholders and with the assistance of the international community regarding capacity-building and technical assistance.
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