New Arab human rights charter requested [Archives:2002/47/Local News]

BY FAHMIA AL-FOTIH
YEMEN TIMES STAFF
In response to the Arab League’s invitation to all Arab countries to provide recommendations on ways to modernize the Arab Charter for Human Rights, Sister Arabic Forum for Human Rights (SAF) and Human Rights Information and Training Center (HRITC) organized a discussion session for this very purpose.
Amal al-Basha Head of the SAF, Eizz Addin al-Asbahi Chairman of the HRITC and the well-known Sudanese human rights activist Dr. Mohammed al-Attaieb along with a number of parliament members, lawyers, human rights activists and media persons attended the session and enriched it with their participation.
Ms. Al-Basha told Yemen Times that all the concerned government and non-government organizations should participate in the modernization efforts of the Arab Charter in a way that conforms to our culture and creed and go along with the international conventions for human rights. She added that the session was an initiative and attempt by SAF and HRITC to eventually come up with a true vision to promote human rights in the Arab world.
She pointed out that they are surprised that the Yemeni government didn’t comment on the articles in the Arab League Charter that hideously violate human rights in the absence a unified Arab Court that is supposed to try violating countries. “So Yemeni government should put in consideration all the civil institutions comments and notes on Arab Charter for Human Rights” she commented.
She hoped that Arabs could come up with mechanisms that guarantee the rights of Arab citizens in practicing all their rights and protect them.
The participants criticized the Arab countries’ charters that lack proper democracy and multi-party systems and asked to form an Arab network to exert pressure on the Arab leaderships to avoid further deterioration in their human rights records.
It is worthy to mention that this session is an introduction to a forthcoming seminar to be held in December, which will be the month in which each country will submit its report.

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