CSF says US has no right to issue reports on Yemen [Archives:2002/24/Front Page]

The Civic Society Forum (CSF) held a seminar dedicated to discussing the aspects of the official reply to the US Department of State on human rights in Yemen. The seminar was run by the al-Qistas magazine in cooperation with the German Embassy in Sanaa.
Participants at the seminar highlighted the main topics mentioned in the report and shared their views. They unanimously objected the United States self-appointment stand as the world human rights monitor in more than 191 countries except for the US, where no human rights violations were reported. However, this year, the report includes a few violations perpetrated inside the United States.
Participants concluded that human rights violations in Yemen, for the most part, are not politically driven, and that most violations take place in police stations and private prisons run by sheikhs. Accordingly, they recommended that policemen should be instructed on the basics of human rights and their respective duties to avoid such violations.
They also agreed that the official reply to the American report is weak and is not well-organized. Participants also demanded that Yemen has to draft its own human rights reports to cut the US government short from doing that stuffs.
Participants described the report as mostly an act of intelligence. They also doubted it on the basis that it mainly used local newspapers as a source of information, claiming that some papers do not seek ethical credibility in this respect.
Participants concluded that the human rights record in Yemen was getting much better, particularly with regard to the legal aspects. There is also a limited press freedom that allows people to voice their opinions.
At the end of the seminar, participants stressed that its necessary to discuss the internal situation of Yemen in an open manner, and that the relevant civil society organizations should perceive their responsibilities and positively contribute to this issue

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