Former President, Aides Retain Immunity
January 27, 2014
(Sanaa) – Yemen’s government should create a commission of inquiry into serious human rights violations by the previous government and
prosecute those responsible, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2014. The government should also pass legislation to end child marriage and reform laws that discriminate against women.
In 2012, Yemen’s parliament granted immunity from prosecution to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who had held power
for 33 years, and to his aides. President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi has not followed up on promises to pass a transitional
justice law, impanel a commission of inquiry into government abuses during the uprising in 2011, or create any other
mechanisms to provide accountability for past violations or prevent future ones.
“The government needs to address the past, both to provide justice for the victims and to make sure the abuses stop once
and for all,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director.“For two years the Hadi administration has ignored the demands for justice from
people harmed by the Saleh government.”
In the 667-page world report, its 24th edition, Human Rights Watch reviews human rights practices in more than 90
countries. Syria’s widespread killings of civilians elicited horror but few steps by world leaders to stop it, Human
Rights Watch said. A reinvigorated doctrine of “responsibility to protect” seems to have prevented some mass atrocities
in Africa. Majorities in power in Egypt and other countries have suppressed dissent and minority rights. And Edward
Snowden’s revelations about US surveillance programs reverberated around the globe.
A six-month national dialogue began in March to make recommendations to guide the upcoming drafting of a new
constitution. The process has involved 565 representatives of political parties and various segments of society,
including women and youth. Working groups on transitional justice and rights and freedoms have recommended improvements
in rights protections. The dialogue has continued past the six-month timetable.
Media freedom has greatly improved since President Hadi took office in February 2012, but there has been an increase in
assaults by security forces and various armed groups on journalists and bloggers. The government’s failure to
investigate these attacks and hold those responsible to account has called into question the government’s commitment to
promoting human rights, Human Rights Watch said.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) carried out dozens of deadly bombings and other attacks on Yemeni security
forces during 2013. The United States carried out at least 23 drone strikes on alleged members of the Al-Qaeda-linked
group from January through November, killing between 95 and 162 people, research groups who track the strikes reported.
But neither government has reported or confirmed the number of civilian casualties.
Women face severe discrimination in law and in practice in Yemen, Human Rights Watch said. Women are not allowed to
marry without the permission of their male guardians, usually a father or brother. They are denied equal rights to
divorce, inheritance, and child custody, and a lack of legal protection leaves them exposed to domestic and sexual
violence.
Child marriage remains widespread. During 2013, doctors and the media reported the deaths of child brides as young as
eight following intercourse or childbirth. Yemen has not legislated a minimum age of marriage, though the National
Dialogue’s Rights and Freedoms Working Group in November recommended establishing 18 as the minimum age.
ENDS