Since 2011, Yemen has experienced significant social and political developments. Massive protests finally resulted in the resignation of President Saleh in November 2011, when he signed the agreement brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The road-map associated with it involves a series of measures to be implemented in order to guarantee an effective political transition. In parallel, Yemen has been subjected to the attention of the Human Rights Council (HRC) and has taken a series of steps to improve the human rights situation in the country. For instance, it has implemented some recommendations made to it during its first Universal Periodic Review (UPR), in 2009. Yemen has also significantly strengthened cooperation with the UN and allowed the establishment of a field office of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Human Rights Council resolutions 18/19 (2011) and 19/29 (2012) acknowledged the government’s cooperation with the OHCHR and steps taken both to ensure accountability for violations and to improve the human rights situation in Yemen, while inviting partners to assist the transitional process. Resolution 21/22 (2012) further encouraged Yemen to pursue reforms. The last HRC resolution on Yemen (24/32 of 2013) was more substantive on the issues of concern, from accountability to violence against journalists, fair trial guarantees, and violations of children’s and of women’s rights. Cooperation between Yemen and OHCHR has often been cited as good practice. However, many challenges remain. For instance, in terms of transitional justice, the establishment of an independent commission to investigate the human rights violations perpetrated during the 2011 events was announced more than three years ago; yet, commissioners are still to be appointed. The transitional justice draft law fails to fully guarantee the rights of victims to effective remedies. Moreover, journalists, human rights defenders and civil society organizations still face restrictions and obstacles, and the situation of children’s and of women’s rights, as well as of freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association, remains dire, with ongoing attacks on journalists and human rights defenders and restrictions on the activities of civil society organizations. These issues have been under-addressed by the Council.
FIDH believes that the upcoming HRC session (HRC 27, 8-26 September 2014) is an opportunity to both reflect on progress made and on ongoing challenges in terms of promotion and protection of human rights in Yemen. The resolution to be adopted under item 10 (“technical assistance and capacity-building”) in September 2014 should include more substantive language on the above-mentioned issues in order to encourage the Yemeni authorities to fulfil their obligations to protect the most vulnerable groups, to combat impunity, and to uphold civil and political rights. It should also recommend the establishment of an international independent commission of inquiry to carry out investigation into human rights violations committed in relation to the 2011 demonstrations, and call on the government to fully cooperate with it.
More information on our work during the council.
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During HRC 27, FIDH, in cooperation with partners such as CIVICUS (www.civicus.orghttp://www.fidh.org/en/united-natio...) will facilitate the participation in the work of the Council of Yemeni human rights defenders:
– Mr. Ezzaddin Al-Asbahi, President of the Human Rights Information and Training Center (HRITC: http://hritc.info/en/) and Vice-President of FIDH (HRITC is a member organization of FIDH).
– Mr. Yousuf Aburas, from the Human Rights Information and Training Center (HRITC).
We will organize a round of advocacy meetings with diplomatic missions and hold a side event with CIVICUS (www.civicus.org), Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org) and the Arab NGO Network for Development (http://www.annd.org/english) to plead for our concerns to be included in HRC action on Yemen, and to keep the latter high on the agenda of the Council.