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Summary: On Wednesday 1st June, the Commitee
examined the third periodic report of Yemen.
This summary highlights the main issues
discussed by the government delegation and
members of the Committee; it is produced by
the NGO Group for the Convention on the
Rights of the Child.
Yemen ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1991, the
Optional Protocol (OP) on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child
pornography and the OP on the involvement of children in armed conflict in
2004. The Committee on the Rights of the Child (the Committee) met with
State Party representatives on 1 June 2005 to consider Yemen’s third
periodic report on the implementation of the CRC.
Opening Comments
Dr. Nafisa Hamoud Aljaifi, Head of the Delegation, began by remarking that
the report was written by a committee consisting of all the appropriate
Government departments as well as NGOs (they participated through
workshops). She highlighted the many important accomplishments,
including a strategy for children and youth in difficulty. In addition, a
poverty reduction plan was underway with the preparation of a second
five-year plan. It included technical and vocational programmes and a
National Strategy to reduce child labour. All legislation concerning mothers
and children was being reviewed to remove any contradictions. As part of
national development, increasing attention was focused on childhood
issues. Dr. Aljaifi also noted obstacles, such as the budget decrease which
led certain children to begin working at an early age. She acknowledged
the insufficient number of preventive or awareness programmes about the
CRC and the larges distances between different groups which hampered
on dissemination.
Mr, Krappman, Country Rapporteur, commented that Yemen was one of the
few States that send their reports on time. He questioned the
implementation of programmes. He commended the State for its
achievements. These included the establishment of the Higher Council for
Maternal and Child Welfare, the Child Rights Act 2002, Juvenile Courts, as
well as the development of Poverty Reduction Strategies and measures to
combat diseases. He noted that half of Yemen’s 20,000,000 people were
under 18. It was the poorest Arab State and its per capital income was
continuing to shrink. He emphasised the diminishing resources from oil and
agriculture and encouraged the Delegation to see well-educated children
as part of the future solution.
Legislation
The Committee noted that the Rights of the Child Act appeared to be
reflecting the report of the League of Arab States and Arab Ministers of
Justice which was controversial, as it was not in line with CRC. They asked
about the status of the CRC in internal law. The Committee also noted that
Yemen ratified the CRC without reservation and wanted information on the
influence of Sharia Law and what the State was doing to manage
incongruities between the two. The Delegation responded that the League
of Arab States Laws and Sharia law were in accordance with the CRC. It
noted that in the juvenile courts there was no clear reference to the CRC
and that the Government was in the final phase of making amendments
before submitting it to civil society for comment.
The Committee was interested in the tribal law, the positions of tribal
chiefs and their influence. The Delegation indicated that this referred to
tribal customs which were old and no longer valid, and that modern State
laws took precedent. Parents were being educated about the negative
impact of giving children guns and revenge customs.
Budget
The Committee noted the widespread poverty and the lack of sufficient
budget allocations. It enquired about the apparent two parallel plans for
the National Plan of Action and asked if they integrated. The Committee
noted that Yemen was very negatively rated in the area of cooperation
and that it needed to combat corruption to build international trust. It also
noted the very high population growth. The Delegation indicated that there
was only one National Plan of Action. It stated that in an effort to work
with donors, the Government provided all the information requested.
Family planning, and sex education in secondary programmes had reduced
population growth from 3.5 % to 3.02%. It was continuing to decline in
accordance with State policy.
Data Collection
The Committee voiced its irritation that the Higher Council for Maternal and
Child Welfare, responsible for collecting data and carrying out
investigations, remained in its infancy despite being started in 1999. The
Committee noted that the report did not show the progress made in
response to the Committee’s previous Concluding Observations. It asked
the Delegation how the State would make this information available and
who would be responsible for the follow-up.
Definition of the Child
The Committee was concerned with the lack of definition for a child. Even
the Child Rights Act was unclear about the age of maturity and the
minimum age for a child to go before the courts. The Committee was also
concerned that boys were allowed to carry weapons and drive cars when
they were tall enough and that girls were considered adults at puberty.
The Delegation responded that amendments to the law had aligned the
ages to the CRC. Legally children could not get married until 18. There
were still cases of children getting married at 15 illegally, but these were
very rare. In addition, fathers would be fined if their children were driving
under the age of 18.
Participation
The Committee asked how children who were not in school could be
represented in the children’s parliament and how they were taken into
account by national decision-makers. The Delegation responded that
elections took place in all social categories: school children, marginalized
children, disabled children, and working children. There was also equity
between boys and girls.
The Delegation stated that the Government had a consolidated strategy
for youth and children. The Delegation indicated that the accusation of non-
inclusion of NGOs was not true.
Corporal Punishment
The Committee indicated that it had information that there was still
corporal punishment in schools, institutions and in the homes of
undereducated women. The Delegation indicated the Government was
raising awareness on the radio, but there were very few reported cases
due to a lack of awareness of parents and children.
Child Labour
The Committee asked about the ILO project to combat child labour which
aimed to remove 3,000 children from hazardous work.
Juvenile Justice
The Committee asked for clarification on the age of criminal responsibility
and whether there were specialized courts for youth. The Delegation
responded that there were special juvenile courts in most of the country. A
child between 10 and 12 years old could not be detained unless the
parents could not be found. Between the ages of 12 and 17 they could be
imprisoned but not sentenced to death. Criminal responsibility began at
18. The philosophy was to rehabilitate them rather than treat them as
criminals. Girls were housed with women and there were no educational
opportunities due to a lack of resources. Meanwhile, boys were not kept
with adults and had schools and rehabilitation programmes.
Trafficking
The Delegation indicated that poverty increased and that families
sometimes became involved in trafficking due to their financial problems.
The State provided awareness education for children, health services and
soft loans to families to prevent the trafficking of children. The State
required that the cases of trafficking of Yemeni children in Saudi Arabia be
studied further. There were controls at boarders, but trafficking was
difficult to monitor due to the terrain and area to cover. The State was
working with UNICEF to assist children who were smuggled or had
immigrated illegally.
Adoption
The Committee was alarmed at the number of children in public
orphanages. The Delegation indicated that the definition of orphan was a
child who had lost both parents or those in financial difficulty. Some
children were there during the day and went home at night. There were
some orphanages that provided day and night care by NGOs or assistance
to the extended family to care for them. People rarely seek Government
help, as the community often helped those less fortunate. There was
unofficial Kafalah within the community. The Kafalah was institutionalised
by an order of the State. The person in charge of Kafalah had legal
obligations to provide alternative care. It was similar to adoption but there
was no inheritance.
Birth Registration
The Committee stated that the authorities were aware of unregistered
births, but the report did not indicate the measures taken to register
children. The Delegation acknowledged the lack of birth registration in
remote areas. There was an attempt to link registration with school
enrolment, but the State was worried it would dissuade parents from
sending their children to school. When a child was born out of wedlock it
was given the mother’s name. A child with a Yemeni mother and foreign
father received Yemeni citizenship until the age of majority when he had to
choose between the father and mother’s nationality. The Delegation also
indicated there were no fees for documentation or registration.
Discrimination
The Committee asked if there was a word for ‘illegitimate child’ in Arabic or
if the term born out of wedlock was used. It was also greatly concerned
about the discrimination against girls and indicated that it was important to
raise the position of women and children. The Committee noted Yemen’s
great effort to address their lack of status. It also remarked on the
different treatment of unmarried girls and boys if girls got pregnant. It
emphasized the need to get rid of discrimination against women as it
fostered family violence. The Committee was also interested in Female
Genital Mutilation (FGM). The Delegation indicated that this accounted for
21.5% of women. Government hospitals did not carry out this procedure
and the Minister prohibited FGM. There would soon be an Act which would
officially prohibit FGM.
The Committee asked about discrimination against Akhdam children (who
were street and working children) and the State’s measures to address
their needs. Akhdam children would be incorporated into society. The
Delegation clarified that it did not use the term ‘Akhdam’. Their social
distinction was due to their occupation as domestics and their status as a
disadvantaged group. The State was working to integrate them into
society and had built 1,500 houses. They previously kept to themselves.
Although they wanted their own schools, they were integrated into
mainstream schools. Some of them held Government positions. One of the
children in the children’s parliament was from this group.
The Committee noted Yemen’s proximity to conflict areas and asked about
the services provided to refugee children. The Delegation responded that
financial and social care for 7,0000 refugee children was provided, such as
free medical aid, schools, training, libraries and food aid.
Health
The Committee noted that health indictors were low and declining in some
areas. Only 20% of births took place in hospital and there were disparities
between urban and rural areas. They indicated that the infant morality rate
was high and asked about initiatives to promote breastfeeding. The
Committee also asked about the low level of HIV/AIDS and the services
available to children and their families.
The Delegation said that the State focused on prevention, primary health
care, childhood diseases, tuberculosis, AIDS, sexually transmitted
diseases, psychological health and nutrition. It underlined the difficulties
given the geographical terrain. It could take four hours to cover 3-4 miles.
The child mortality rate had been reduced over the previous 15 years. It
had gone from 152 deaths for every 1000 births to 101 for 1000 births.
Vaccination coverage was around 80%. Children with AIDS received
psychological support which was available to infected people and their
families. Confidential medical attention, retroviral drugs and condoms were
free for infected people. There was also a hotline with information on AIDS.
The State raised awareness about the importance of breastfeeding and
nutrition. It advised women to breastfeed for two years and this was done
by 95% of mothers.
Disabled Children
In response to the Committee’s questions, the Delegation said that there
were 70 NGOs which specialised in disabilities. A law was passed to take
care of the disabled. There were centres for rehabilitation, assistance
through vehicles or special chairs. Integration of people with disabilities
into mainstream society only began in 2003.
Sexual Exploitation
The Delegation indicated that entire chapters of the law were being
amended on this issue.
Street Children
The Delegation disputed the figure of 28,789 street children in the capital,
as the total population was only 1 million. They indicated that there were
few cases of children who lived fulltime on the street. The State provided
them with Yemeni nationality and special care houses.
Education
The Committee asked how the State promoted the attendance of girls and
noted the apparent high dropout rate of the majority of girls. They asked
the State when education would be free. They noted that 93% of the
population was unskilled and illiterate and asked if the State had plans for
vocational schools. The Delegation responded that the strategy of girl’s
education was in concordance with the MDGs. There was a National
strategy for girls which was evaluated every year. In addition, new schools
were being built and there was free education in accordance with the
constitution. The curriculum had been updated in the previous two years to
include concepts of human rights, the CRC and the environment.
Concluding Remarks
The Country Rapporteur acknowledged the Delegation’s reporting of
accomplishments without denying the problems. He indicated that the
concluding comments would address legislation, data collection,
discrimination, the best interest of the child, birth registration, protection,
health and education issues. The main obstacles were poverty and
customs that do not recognise children’s rights. The Committee was there
to remind the international community when assistance was needed. The
development of Yemen depended on a new perception of the child - active,
creative and wanting to participate.
The Delegation appreciated the Committee’s interest in the children of
Yemen and was glad to share its views and ideas. It noted that the
recommendations would guide the Government in modifying its laws and in
evaluating its programmes.