Celebrating The 51st Anniversary of Human Rights [Archives:2000/52/Reportage]

By: Tawfeek Al-Sharaabi,
Yemen Times
It is really depressing and deeply disappointing to see the whole globe drawing close to the threshold of the new millennium highly conscious of their accomplishments and at the same time setting up new goals and opening new horizons to accomplish all of the things they missed, while we here in Yemen have come to a feeling of not having accomplishing the desired goals of democracy and human rights for one reason or another. It is an irony that we are still perpetuating our general mood of depression and fancy hopes of development, human rights, democracy, etc. that may never be met unless we sincerely commit ourselves to their sublime values.
Not so long ago, we celebrated the 51st anniversary of human rights in Yemen, at a time that was characterized by their violations. A look around will bear testimony to what I mean.
It is true that Yemen signed the international treaties of Human Rights like many other nations. However, despite the best of intentions, the actual implementation of human rights still remains a long way off. In spite of the lofty ideals which we cherished, in practice they are invalid, ineffective and do not have any real substance.
Many times I have heard the question, “Why we are different from other nations that have made long strides in terms of human rights and whether these rights are strongly respected and upheld?” In fact, what these countries have achieved was not random or sudden. They achieved what they have after a long struggle by a great people who do believe in these rights and their values. If we really want to reach such a position and state, human rights should be ideally safeguarded and protected. We should ensure that these wonderful rules are translated into action before we qualify to celebrate the signing of the accord. A cursory look at the national scenario would make the whole thing clear.
Writing about human rights violations has become a casual matter that all become fed up with. However, I realize the urgency of our need to critically analyze the activities of those who claim to support human rights and those who draw a rosy picture of what is really misery. There is a specific group of people who are bent upon distorting facts to serve the interests of some influential and powerful people in the country. They are indeed corrupt, and always give service to those people who are powerful, usually in exchange for material gain. Now if we have made slight progress in the issue of human rights, we should not keep boasting and bragging about this. If we are actually committed to such hard-fought gains, we should make all-out efforts to consolidate them and go on waging a war against wrongful and illegal acts amounting to human rights violation that should be set right. We should not spare any efforts until this situation is corrected.
To elaborate on the above argument and make it more clear, I want to draw the attention of some arm-chair philosophers to some points that those dreaming people need to be conscious of:
How many beggars of different age groups are flooding our streets?
How many violations take place in investigation offices, prisons, and political security?
How many persons are subjected to arrest and captivity without any legal warrants?
How many sheikhs still possess jails to torture innocent people?
How many disabled and crippled people are ignored and left to the streets?
How many people are unable to find loaves of bread for their survival?
How many students, after all their toil and troubles to finish their university education, find themselves roaming the streets?
How many cases of human rights violations, reported in newspapers, are not investigated?
Are not these questions worth considering before we celebrate and boast of our achievements?
Beggars on the streets are also human beings and claim these rights too. It is an irony that we celebrate and rejoice about upholding such rights while these beggars’ rights are flagrantly trampled over. They mock at our celebration as an unmistakable evident that violations are there. Go to any street and you will easily see the magnitude of their calamity; Beggars of different ages, from the child to the young boys, from youths and old people, all swarm through our streets. Even young ladies have followed suit. Neither can these kids nor old people be at all able to work and earn living. They keep running from one street to another holding their hands, kissing people and praying for a paltry 5 riyals or something. Some of those beggars have made road intersections their homes. They are always there; day and night, in summer as well as in winter, exposed to hot, cold, hunger, and thirst and no-one seems to be bothered and do something to redress their suffering. Doesn’t this constitute a violation of human rights?!
Isn’t their right to be looked after?
Don’t they have rights to have homes to protect them, food to eat, and access to health care, education, ……… etc.?
Of course, “YES”. So what are we celebrating?
Our constitution envisages that all children have access to education, especially primary education. So, is this provision really implemented?
No one could fail to notice how our handicapped, crippled and invalid brethren are moving from one street to another, either on wheels or on their sticks begging alms. Some just keep dragging themselves in these streets with no-one to help. Isn’t it their right to find places and centers which take care of them and train them to be productive rather than a source of grief and liability to our society. Now how can we turn a deaf ear to all this?!!
How can we say that “human rights are not an problem in Yemen.?”Child labor is also another distressing phenomenon which is on the increase. They are exposed to different terrible tiring and strenuous jobs and activities, unlike in many countries throughout the globe. The Arab treaties no 1 of the 1966 and no 6 of 1976 envisage that child labor below the age of 12 should not be allowed. However, the number of children working in our country has increased considerably in the past few years. Rough estimations show that the number of working children is 231,000, made up of, 52% males and 48% females. Some were compelled by their deplorable living situations to leave school and start working to help their families earn a living. These kids working in different productive activities may be vulnerable to various forms of hazards and abuse. Some may be perverted if they work for a wicked company, and some may grow up criminals.
Violations of human rights not only occur in these limited spheres of life, they spread to many other areas as well. For instance, there are a great number of graduates and highly qualified persons who have completed their studies, only to be idle and have no-where to go except to the streets. For example, a graduate who devoted around 18 years of his life to academics is rewarded for his hard work by unemployment. Many go abroad to study different academic specializations and come back to stay at home and do nothing.
Don’t all these people have the right to find jobs to utilize their skills and what they studied so that they benefit themselves and their society?
Don’t they have rights to dream of settling down, starting families and living peacefully?
Violations in Police Stations, Investigation Offices, Prisons, and political Security may speak for themselves. If we kept a record of the all these violations we can say without any fear of exaggeration that human rights are hardly respected. Many people are subject to arrest, torture and are beaten up without any legal and lawful warrants. Some are taken to custody mainly because they were vocal for their rights and tried to expose the roots of corruption. Others are put in captivity for unknown reasons and durations. The latest reports of Amnesty International showed that many violations of human rights are taking place. The Amnesty International has documented many cases of torture in Yemen, particularly at the hands of Political Security.
Even women are not left alone in such conditions. It seems to me that all have heard about the aggressive war waged against the Empirical Researches and Women Studies Center which ended up in issuing a decision to close the center down. The decision made was not at all considerate of the 150 students’ rights studying in the center. The action to close this center is a flagrant violation of their rights, restricting their ability to be vocal and express their opinions freely as this is asserted by our constitution. These violations occur to women outside prisons, let alone those that must be happening inside prisons. For example, some of those kept in prisons are prone to oppression, torture and rape by some of those snobbish, influential officials who take the law into their own hands.
Casting a look over the many organizations that are set up to support human rights will give a clear picture of the chaos we are living in. One could be easily impressed by their eye-catching titles and objectives, as well as slogans. However, one may not realize what they really are after. The real role played by most of those organizations is no more than writing down reports which are exploited to gain foreign as well as Arab financial support to build palaces, villas, and to buy fabulous cars. To be more precise, let’s ask ourselves what the Committee of Human Rights in the Consultative Council has done since the death of Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Saqqaf, the real sponsor of human rights in our country. I now assert that it was only when he was alive that we could see issues of human rights raised up and strongly defended. Because of his stiff attitude and sincere commitment, we could see real fruits in terms of releasing many people kept in custody without any legal warrants, uncovering illegal actions, disclosing corruption,……. etc. He played a pivotal role in supporting human rights organizations that really justified their titles. He was the shelter of any afflicted and oppressed ones in our society.
Thus, if these institutions claiming support of human rights do not respect them and tend to abuse them all the way through, I wonder then who will keep them! If only those skillful in signing up treaties were also skillful in making polices to apply these rules and rights rather than signing policy documents, then the situation would be much different. Most of the miseries as well as calamities we witness in our day to day live are not that hard to redress. For example, I have come to realize that most of the ‘Zakat’ money distributed during this Holy month, goes to the hands of rich people who own fortunes and are not at all in need of it. Only the homeless, really needy people are deprived of it. Now will it not be prudent if we use this money to help those families inhabiting streets and the real poor who are suppressed by poverty, starvation and cold, especially nowadays. The President of the Republic has actually set off a good initiative and a role model when he allocated around YR10 million for the Human Rights Fund, however what we wish and cross our fingers for is that this money will go to those people who really deserve it, and that it will not vaporize in a thin air as many funds we have received from different organizations and sponsors of human rights.
Will those who are in charge lend me their ears and stir to do something to change the situation as it is now? It is also good to remind those in charge of human rights to practice what they preach. Words and speeches about human rights are good, however, actions are what we really need, not merely words.

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