Review of the fifth periodic report of Yemen

Conclusion

The political situation in Yemen is quickly deteriorating – at present there are even fears that the country could disintegrate into separate entities. Some observers have been warning, for years now, of the “Somalisation of Yemen” due to the conflict between the central government and the Houthi movement in the north; the political and social demands of the southern part of Yemen, which are increasingly expressed in secessionist terms; the presence in Yemen of groups affiliated to Al-Qaida; and finally the challenges posed to the central government due to social and political demands for democracy and regime change, as articulated by the youth movement that continue to lead the peaceful civil protest movement since January 2011. These conflicts are exacerbated by a continuing heavy pressure from the United States including via their direct military interventions in the country. During the last confrontation between the Yemeni military and the Houthi movement in the north, the Saudi military bombarded some of the northern regions of Yemen.

Following a period of relative stability in the beginning of the 1990s which allowed an improvement of the human rights situation and public freedoms in Yemen, the current explosive situation has lead to serious transgressions with regards to the respect for human rights. Today, the progress previously achieved is again open to question, on a daily basis these achievements are falling apart and the authority of the State is increasingly undermined. The weakened central Government leans heavily on its repressive apparatus made up of numerous security services which are all de facto under the direct control of the President, Ali Abdallah Saleh and members of his family, which has led to the appearance of new non-state actors who also commit human rights violations.

The lack of an independent judiciary, the absence of civilian control over security and military structures set up to fight against terrorism, and the lack of sanctions for perpetrators are key factors in the perpetuation of grave human rights violations in Yemen.

In that regard, Alkarama would like to stress that the amnesty law approved by the interim Cabinet on 8 January 2012, and which was finally adopted by Parliament on 21 January 2012 granting President Saleh and those officials who acted under his rule¹⁶⁸ immunity from prosecution will further the climate of impunity, a climate that unfortunately has dominated Yemen’s justice system in recent years. This is in total violation of Yemen’s obligation to ensure that any person whose rights or freedom - as recognized by the Covenant - are violated, shall have an effective remedy, notwithstanding that these violations has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity. The right to justice for all victims in Yemen, whether related to the authorities’ ongoing repression of pro-democracy movements, or to other campaigns of repression – the unrests in the south, the conflict in the north and the fight against Al-Qaida, should be fully endorsed, in order to ensure respect of political and civil rights in the future.

In the following chapter, Alkarama will list some of its key recommendation to the Government of Yemen which, we hope, can also be useful for the experts of the Human Rights Committee during their examination of Yemen’s fifth periodic report.