Review of the fifth periodic report of Yemen

Yemen:

Alarming deterioration of civil and political rights

Report submitted to the Human Rights Committee for the review of the fifth periodic report of Yemen

1 February 2012

About Alkarama
Alkarama (الكرامة ) is a registered Swiss foundation headquartered in Geneva, established in 2004 by volunteer human rights lawyers and defenders. It works on human rights violations in the Arab world with offices and representatives in Lebanon (Beirut), Qatar (Doha), Cairo (Egypt) and Yemen (Sana’a).
Its work focuses on four priority areas: extra-judicial executions, disappearances, torture and arbitrary detention. Related activities include protecting human rights defenders and ensuring the independence of judges and lawyers.
Alkarama engages with the United Nations (UN) human rights mechanisms. It has submitted thousands of cases and urgent appeals to the United Nations Special Procedures including the Special Rapporteur on Torture, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and various UN human rights treaty bodies. Additionally, Alkarama has submitted numerous reports on the human rights situation in Arab states reviewed under the Universal Periodic Review, and to UN human rights treaty bodies.
Basing its work on principles of international human rights law and humanitarian law, Alkarama uses UN human rights mechanisms on behalf of victims of human rights violations and their families. It works constructively with sovereign states, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and national human rights institutions, as well as victims’ lawyers and human rights defenders. It also organizes seminars and undertakes campaigns to raise awareness of human rights issues in the Arab world.
In Arabic, Alkarama means ‘dignity’.