Yemen’s human rightsReport card rejected [Archives:2005/828/Front Page]
Yasser Mohammed Al-Mayyasi
Yemen is drafting a formal response to a recent US report on human rights violations in Yemen.
But if early discussion is any indication, it might say something like “mind your business.”
The US Embassy recently hosted discussion on the annual report that is given to Congress to discuss the practices of human rights in the countries that have relations with the US.
It has stirred a lot of controversy, protests and comments by some Yemeni officials as they believe attacked President Abduallah Ali Saleh and his government several times.
The Yemeni government says the report is filled with contradictions. The US stance toward Yemen has a double-standard policy. Tension of the Yemeni government toward the report has led to forming a committee to respond to it
Deputy US Ambassador Nabeel Al-Khori to Yemen denied that the report issued by the US ministry of foreign affairs is directed against specific countries, but rather that it includes legal facts that measures the improvement or deterioration of human rights in any country.
The report is to be forwarded to the US Congress for the sake of assessing aid extended to any country. It touches on areas such as torture, and regarding women, as well as how their role has been enhanced in different areas.
Deteriorating human rights situation was represented in reppression of the freedom of press as well as the detention, interrogation and imprisonment of some journalists over their writings.
Al-Khori asserted, however, that the report is comparatively good.
Faris Asa'ad, the Political Official at the US Embassy pointed out that the report is usually issued depending on information from the government, the civil community organizations, members of parliament, as well as lawyers, judges and foreign embassies based in Sana'a.
Data are mostly collected through articles published about Yemen in many domestic and external newspapers and news agencies. The report also contains data from the international organizations and the ministry of human rights, and covers a list of points on the status quo of human rights in the country.
Mrs. Amataleem al-Soswah, who is taking part in the committee, confirmed that the committee would work on the responses of institutions and concerned ministries in order to agree upon the official response to the US report.
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