As
Yemen
Rights Debated
in Half Empty
Room, Saleh
Impunity
Defended
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
March 14 --
Yemen's human
rights record
was debated
Wednesday in a
less than half
full UN
conference
room. Minister
Hooriah
Mashour faced
questions from
the members of
the UN Human
Rights
Committee, on
topics ranging
from women's
rights through
drones to the
immunity deal
for Ali Saleh.
Ms.
Mashour's
responses did
not begin
until 5 pm,
and for nearly
an hour she
focused on
women's
rights, saying
that in her
ten years --
that is, in
Ali Saleh's
times -- she
has received
few to no
complaints of
marital rape,
"it is not a
problem in
Yemeni
society."
She
acknowledged
that parts of
the country
are under the
control of Al
Qaeda and of
the Houthis,
and that
southerners
were forced to
retire from
the military,
but may be
compensated.
Finally
at 5:48 pm she
addressed the
"amnesty law,"
calling it
difficult but
"we opted for
the immunity
versus the
transitional
justice. We
gave immunity
at the same
time that we
had to go for
a frank
dialogue
between the
parties
concerned...
to keep in the
national
memory of our
nation."
This
issue of
impunity was
considered a
hot one not
long ago. Now
with much
focus
transferred to
Syria, the UN
room for Yemen
is mostly
empty. In it
there was talk
of UN
Assistant
Secretary
General, and
major Ban
Ki-moon
adviser, Amat
Al-Alim
Alsoswa, who
was an Ali
Saleh era
minister.
"As
for
extrajudiary
killings,"
Hooriah
Mashour
continued,,
"we do not
have enough
information on
this issue. We
tackled with
the USA
regarding the
unmanned
vehicles,
there were
certain
manuevers in
the Arab Sea
and the Gulf.
However there
was not enough
transparency.
How come
civilians who
had nothing to
do with
terrorism...
like in
Majala... this
is bothering
us, especially
that the
victims are
civilians."
Sounds
like the US in
Pakistan. Or
Afghanistan.
Or Somalia, if
you follow it.
So where is
the US
response?
Meanwhile, at
the March 14
session Minister
Hooriah
Mashour said
there were
2000 "martyrs"
during the
uprising. Watch
this site.
Footnote:
Before
the "open"
session
reported on
above, there
was a closed
session of
briefings by
human rights
groups,
including
AlKarama about
which Inner
City Press has
previously
reported.
Now the
group's
executive
director
Mourad Dhina
has been
arrested by
France, which
talks such a
big game about
human rights.
We hope to
have more on
this.
, 
