Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
Yemen signed the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights in November 198 and has submitted its last report
in April 2002. The Government of the Republic of Yemen recognizes
the importance of the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights, which represents a major international legal
framework for the protection of human rights.
Various legal articles and provisions have been
developed to harmonize consistently with economic and social rights,
in accordance with the commitment to formulate general policy arrangements
and legal measures which accommodate the legislative requirements
stipulated in the provisions of the Covenant. Those provisions have
been further reflected in the process of transforming the principles,
which they articulate into plans and programmes of action and national
legislative enactments. These legislative and legal frameworks are
continuously reviewed and the programmes are periodically assessed
in the light of their practical application. The other frameworks
are related to the importance of creating appropriate mechanisms
to carry out the tasks of recording, monitoring, follow-up and assessment
in order to guarantee the implementation of these laws and their
translation into programmes of action.
This report aims to provide answers concerning
the practical levels of application of the provisions of the Covenant,
based on the fundamental elements, principles and procedures which
the Republic of Yemen used as a starting point in putting into practice
its obligations to implement the articles of the Covenant. In that
regard, it took into account the resolutions and recommendations
of international conferences, particularly those of relevance to
the Covenant, such as the Fourth World Conference on Women. Such
resolutions and recommendations have now been implemented either
in the context of the State’s overall plan or in that of the sectoral
action programmes of government institutions and non-governmental
organizations with a view to strengthening and promoting those areas
of social, economic and cultural development which stem from the
principles of the Constitution, from the political and economic
principles of the national system and from the development strategy
and policies adopted.
Article 1. Right of self-determination
In regard to social matters, the Constitution covers
the rights and duties of citizens, stipulating as it does that citizens
are guaranteed the right of self-determination, as stated in both
general and particular legislative provisions.
Under the laws in force, in particular the General
Elections Act No. 13 of 2001, Yemeni citizens of both sexes, without
distinction, are accorded the right to vote and stand as electoral
candidates, meaning that both men and women are considered to have
full legal competence.
Article 2. Obligations of States parties
Under this article, each State party undertakes
to take appropriate steps, to the maximum of its available resources,
with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the
rights recognized in the Covenant. This undertaking is clear in
the legislative measures and safeguards adopted by Yemen in formulating
various laws to guarantee the realization of these rights and the
means to ensure the progressive enjoyment of their benefits in line
with the political, economic and social changes taking place at
the public and private levels.
The first five-year plan (1996-2000)
In mid-1995, in an integrated approach to the programmes
for other financial, economic and structural reforms, the Government
embarked on preparing the five-year plan for 1996-2000, which was
approved in 1996. As a result, an average annual growth rate of
5.5 per cent was achieved in the gross product, meaning an annual
increase in the real domestic product per capita of 2 per cent,
or, in other words, an overall increase of 13.8 per cent.
The second five-year plan (2000-2005)
The second five-year plan (2000-2005) aims to achieve
a real increase in GDP through average growth of 5.6 per cent, compared
with an actual average of 5.5 per cent during the period of the
first five-year plan. This can be done by achieving an annual real
growth average of 2.3 per cent of GDP per capita, thus partially
furthering the simultaneous objectives of improving the standard
of living, creating employment opportunities and alleviating poverty.
The social security network
While implementing the second stage of the economic
reform programme, the Government devoted substantial attention to
the condition of social groups suffering from the consequences of
the reform programme, in particular price rises, the removal of
subsidies on goods and essential services and the worsening phenomenon
of poverty. In 1995, it took steps to establish the Social Security
Network.
The Government also directed its attention to increasing
private sector investment as a prerequisite to greater economic
growth. It therefore created a favorable investment climate through
introduction of the Investment Incentive Act No. 14 of 1995 with
a view to facilitating the flow of capital for use in the country’s
different economic fields.
In regard to article 2, paragraph 2, which is concerned
with strengthening judicial review and other appeal measures in
the event of unfair discrimination that has a negative impact on
the enjoyment of the rights enunciated in the Covenant, or, in other
words, gender bias.(12) The subject is addressed in both general
and specific legislative enactments, including Republican Decree
Law No. 30 of 1993 concerning the Practice of the Legal Profession
by either sex. There is no discrimination against women engaged
in the legal profession.
The overall substance of the Penal Code is concerned
with ensuring that the measures needed to improve the position of
litigants in need of protection are adopted in the form of legal
articles and provisions aimed at securing their equal enjoyment
of the economic, social and cultural rights gained or sought.
The Judicial Authority Act No. 8 of 1990, moreover,
does not stipulate male gender as a prerequisite for appointment
as a court judge or an officer of the Department of Public Prosecutions.
The Code of Civil Procedures No. 28 of 1992 also
constitutes a highly progressive step towards ensuring the essential
needs of litigants of both sexes in terms of judicial review and
other appeal procedures in cases where a litigant is subjected to
material or moral harm.
Article 3. Equal legal rights of men and women
At this juncture, the discussion will be confined
to the main legislative acts having an immediate connection with
women’s economic, social and cultural rights and a positive impact
on women.
The legislative and institutional status of women
The Constitution
The Constitution of the Republic of Yemen recognizes
the principle that all citizens are equal in accordance with article
41, which stipulates that: “All citizens have equal public rights
and duties.” Article 42 also stipulates that citizens have the right
to participate in political, economic, social and cultural life
and article 43 guarantees the right to vote, stand as an electoral
candidate and express an opinion by referendum. It also emphasizes
that women are the sisters of men and have rights and duties guaranteed
by the Shariah and stipulated in law, as stated in article 31.
In political matters:
*The Electoral Act No. 13 of 2001
Under this Act, women are accorded the right to
vote and stand as electoral candidates. The Act makes no distinction
between the sexes in regard to the recognition of this right and
the enjoyment of its benefits, as they both have legal competence.
*The Judicial Authority Act No. 1 of 1990
The Judicial Authority Act makes no distinction
between men and women when stipulating the conditions for the appointment
of court judges and officers of the Department of Public Prosecutions.
(14)
In the social field:
The relevant laws in this field include:
The Personal Status Act No. 20 of 1992. This Act
covers the rights and duties of spouses and the rights of minor
children. However, certain rights are unspecified and lacks regulations
to interpret some of its articles, while some of its provisions
require amendment as befits women’s needs and their evolving circumstances
within the family and society. Accordingly, the Council of Ministers
and the House of Representatives have recently approved the amendments
to various articles in the Act.
The Personal Status and Civil Registration Act
No. 48 of 1991. This Act emphasizes the principle of full equality
and non-discrimination among citizens in regard to the protection
and recognition of rights through recourse to the courts for the
purpose of claiming a right, without distinction on grounds of sex.
The provisions of this Act are therefore consistent with those of
the Yemeni Constitution and those of international conventions,
declarations, instruments and treaties. The Council of Ministers
approved the draft amendment to article 2, paragraph 1, of the Personal
Status and Civil Registration Act No. 48 of 1991, submitted by the
committee charged with reviewing draft amendments to certain laws
in connection with women’s rights. The article concerns persons
charged with notify births and emphasizes that mothers are among
those entitled to notify the official authorities of the birth of
a child, in addition to the parties stipulated in the law in force;
The Penal Code No. 12 of 1994. Under the Penal
Code, women and men are equal in regard to the death penalty and
custodial penalties, as stipulated in the Koran. The provisions
of this Code are applied, although a clear distinction is made between
women and men in article 42 in connection with the blood money (diya)
payable for women, which is half of that payable for men. This provision
should therefore be reviewed in order to ensure the equality of
men and women in this matter;
The Code of Criminal Procedures No. 12 of 1994.
The Code of Criminal Procedures contains provisions of relevance
to women in certain aspects. It sets out their rights and circumstances,
in particular while they are pregnant or nursing, as motherhood
is a social function, which they perform at a stage of their lives
and they need to care for and nurse their children. Article 84 of
the Code therefore stipulates that the death penalty or penalties
involving doctrinal punishment (hadd) or retribution (qasas) must
be suspended in the case of expectant mothers until they give birth
and in the case of nursing mothers until the nursing of their child
is complete. Some provisions of the Code also strengthen respect
for women’s rights in connection with family matters;
The Prisons Act No. 48 of 1991. This Act provides for the welfare
of women prisoners who are pregnant and ensures that they receive
medical care and attention in accordance with the instructions of
the competent doctor and if they give birth in prison, an event
which must not appear in the official prison records. No child may
remain in prison with his mother after he reaches 2 years of age.
When he must be handed over to his father or a relative, unless
the doctor decides that the condition of the child does not permit
such course of action. The amendment recently approved by the Council
of Ministers requires that a woman prisoner who is pregnant or who
gives birth should receive special care and that her newborn child
should be cared for in homes dedicated to that purpose;
The Social Welfare Act No. 1 of 1996. The Social
Welfare Act No. 1 of 1996 was promulgated to cater for specific
groups and poor people, such as destitute and disadvantaged women,
disabled persons, orphans and people in need. It devotes particular
attention to women who have no provider and other groups covered
by the social welfare specified in the Act. This Act defines a woman
who has no provider as any woman, whether or not she has children,
whose husband has died or divorced her and who has not remarried,
as well as any woman over 30 years of age who has never married.
In all such cases, the woman must be incapable of work and have
no fixed income and no legitimate provider who can support her if
she is unable to obtain work;
The Arbitration Act No. 22 of 1992. The Arbitration
Act stipulates no conditions for arbitrators which might differentiate
between men and women on grounds of sex. In accordance with the
Act, and arbitrator may be either a woman or a man and there is
no legal impediment to prevent women from undertaking such work;
The Nationality Act No. 6 of 1990. Under this Act,
a Yemeni woman married to a non-national is entitled to retain her
nationality in accordance with the conditions stipulated. The equality
of men and women is neglected, however, when it comes to acquiring
nationality; a Yemeni woman married to a non-national, even if he
is Muslim, is not entitled to enjoy the same privileges as a Yemeni
man married to a non-national and they are unequal in regard to
the conferral of citizenship on their children. In a significant
move, however, the Council of Ministers recently approved the proposed
amendment to the Nationality Act with the addition of a new article,
pursuant to which the children of a Yemeni woman married to a non-national
are, in the event of her divorce, accorded the full rights enjoyed
by children whose parents are both Yemeni and may be granted Yemeni
nationality after they attain 18 years of age, if they so choose;
The Education Act No. 45 of 1992. This Act accords
to both sexes equal rights to benefit from the educational opportunities
granted by educational institutions and includes the right of girls
to acquire an education equal to that of boys in accordance with
their wishes and abilities;
The Civil Service Act No. 19 of 1991. The Civil
Service Act states that the assumption of public office is based
on the principle of equal opportunities, a right which is supported
in a number of articles according special privileges to women, including:
- Maternity leave of 60 days with full pay and
20 additional days in the event of a difficult delivery, a Caesarean
section or the birth of twins;
- A fixed period of five working hours for a nursing
mother until her child has completed its sixth month;
- Leave without pay for female employees up to a maximum period
of one year, as determined by the administrative unit, where such
leave is needed;
- A reduction in working hours to not more than four for a pregnant
woman, beginning with her sixth month of pregnancy and continuing
until delivery;
- Marital leave of up to four years without pay for a spouse who
agrees to accompany his or her partner abroad;
The Labour Act No. 5 of 1995. This Act provides for full equality
between men and women in the assumption of public office, employment,
pay, training, promotion and leave in accordance with the provision
of article 11. Application of the provisions of this Act have not,
however, met the demands of women, particularly in regard to promotion,
allowances, bonuses, training and further training;
The Insurance and Pensions Act No. 25 of 1991,
as amended by Act No. 1 of 2000. This Act applies to all civil servants
and government workers, both male and female, in the public and
mixed sectors. This Act accords a number of privileges to women,
taking into account their social circumstances. The rights and guarantees
in question are represented by insurance benefits for old age, incapacity,
death, health and work injury. The Act also includes special provisions
for women which take into account their household responsibilities
and social circumstances on account of the dual social role which
they perform in the home;
The Social Insurance Act No. 26 of 1991. This Act
makes no distinction in according guarantees and rights to men and
women who are insured. Privileges are enjoyed by workers in the
private sector and by Yemeni workers abroad. These rights and guarantees
are represented by insurance benefits for work injury, incapacity
and old age for women when they reach 55 years of age, a right which
is not accorded to men until they reach 60 years of age.
In economic matters
The law dealing with economic matters is as follows.
The Civil Code No. 9 of 1992. Pursuant to this
Code, Yemeni citizen are granted legal competence on attaining 15
years of age, in which regard no distinction is made between males
and females. The Code moreover stipulates that, on attaining that
age, girls have the right to conclude contracts and enter into financial
transactions. It also accords them the right to sale, purchase and
ownership, as well as the right to obtain financial loans, without
distinction between them and men. Difficulties are encountered,
however, in putting this Code into practice, which may lead to discrimination
in favour of men.
Having surveyed these legal provisions on women’s
rights and duties in private and public life, it is clear that women
are provided with adequate and appropriate guarantees on the following
basis:
(a) Emphasis on sexual equality. Any discrimination
which does occur is attributable to the social roles of women and
men based on the specific division of labour between them;
(b) Prevailing social and cultural patterns, which
exaggerate certain features of the stereotyped roles and responsibilities
of women and men, some aspects of which have negative consequences
for the drafting and implementation of laws.
Adopted policy measures
1. The purposes of these measures are:
- To implement various institutional arrangements
in a bid to improve women’s conditions and achieve fair and equal
social policies which derive from the Islamic view of women as the
sisters of men and which are consistent with the international guidelines
laid down in the Covenant and at international conferences, in particular
the International Conference on Population and Development, the
World Summit for Social Development and the Fourth World Conference
on Women, which called for the need to achieve justice, equality
and fairness between the sexes;
- To develop general legal provisions and articles
relating to women’s issues which strengthen the status of women
and allow them wider scope for effective involvement in public life;
- To give women leading positions in the higher
structures of power, the diplomatic corps, social insurance establishments
and other government institutions;
- To ensure that the components of the updated
national strategy and action plan on population include women and
development, thereby guaranteeing equality and fairness in all walks
of life in the light of the provisions of the Islamic Shariah;
- To ensure that the five-year plan and the government
programme devote attention to women’s issues and emphasize the greater
involvement of women in economic and social activities;
- To establish a national government committee
on women to devise and propose strategies and plans for women and
determine the priorities for women’s development projects;
- To instruct the national committee on women to
formulate a national strategy for women, which was ratified in 1997
and determined that the essential objective was to turn Yemeni women
into an effective force in both the family and society, as commensurate
with their strength in numbers on the one hand and the vitality
of their social and economic roles on the other. This strategy specified
general guidelines for implementing the strategy on women in Yemen
with a view to reducing poverty, helping disadvantaged women, educating
women and raising their standard of health;
- To enable women to play a part in formulating
development policies by establishing new mechanisms for women in
various ministries and developing some of the existing mechanisms
for women;
- To devote attention to improving the collection
of statistical data and indicators, broken down by gender, for use
in developing national programmes which are gender-specific, redesigning
strategies and policies from the gender perspective and incorporating
the issues and concerns of both sexes into the national plans and
programmes demanded by the requirements of comprehensive development;
- To implement government programmes and projects
for women and devote particular attention to setting up women’s
training centres. Under the chairmanship of the prime minister and
with the membership of the competent ministers and the chairwoman
of the National Committee for Women, the Higher Council for Women’s
Affairs was recently established as a high-ranking structure intended
to have an immediate and palpable effect on the formulation of policies
and priorities in connection with strengthening the role and status
of women.
Article 6. The right to work
The right to work, which is a core concern of
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
is recognized in Yemen, whether through ratification of the Covenant
or through the national recognition of international instruments
on the subject, particularly those drawn up by the International
Labour Organization (ILO) concerning workers’ rights. All such instruments
emphasize the right to work, as specified in the Covenant, which
stipulates recognition of the right of everyone to the opportunity
to gain his living by work which he freely chooses or accepts. Appropriate
steps are being taken to safeguard this right. (21)
Evidence to the Government’s commitment to the
realization of this article can be seen in the establishment of
the following government’s institutions:
-The Ministry of Vocational and Technical Education
(in 2001).
-The General Organization for Vocational Training.
-The Vocational Training Fund (1995).
-The General Organization for Vocational Training.
-The National Council for Vocational and Technical.
UNEMPLOYMENT:
In recognition of the right of the Yemeni citizen
to work, the State adopted various policies, measures and arrangements
aimed at guaranteeing that right. It also adopted more comprehensive
policies in line with the international guidelines indicated by
the World Summit for Social Development, held in Copenhagen in 1995.
(24)
2. The second object of the employment policies
relates to the measures and programmes designed to alleviate the
recessionary effects resulting from the policies of economic caution
and structural reform followed since 1995. There are four main programmes
in this area:
(a) The Public Works Project: established in 1996
as part of the social security network with the aim of creating
the largest possible number of job opportunities, improving infrastructural
services, health, education and the environment and promoting social
participation.
(b) The Social Fund for Development: launched in
1998 in order to slow the repercussions of the economic reform programme
through improving conditions for the poorest social groups by providing
essential services, creating job opportunities, developing local
communities, providing assistance to civil organizations and establishing
small income generating projects.
(c) The Small Industries Development Unit: a finance
institution which specializes in providing loans to small investors
in order to combat unemployment, provide new job opportunities,
increase self-employment values and raise awareness among job-seekers
who are graduates of vocational training institutes and centers
of the worth of self-employment in small low-income businesses.
(d) The Productive Family Program: established
with the aim of providing vocational skills training for poor families,
particularly those dependent on social security assistance.
(e) The Vocational Training and Skills Development
Fund: run by the trio of employers, labour organizations and workers.
It comprises all vocational training centres and institutes and
helps to finance their vocational and technical training operations.
These programmes all aim to create employment opportunities for
the poor and the unemployed and to increase employment opportunities
for impoverished women in rural and urban areas. They also aim to
create training and retraining opportunities for women and disabled
persons.
Article 7. The right to enjoy just and favourable conditions of
work
In order to improve the quality of labour and the labour force,
the Government has made efforts during the past few years to promulgate
national legislative acts which provide legal protection for the
rights of workers in accordance with the provisions of the Covenant
and with international and Arab labour standards in connection with
the regulation of terms and conditions of service, including insurance
and health care. These legislative enactments are strengthened by
the principle of respect for fundamental labour rights and by establishment
of the concept of labour relations between workers and employers
and the right of workers to form and join their own organizations
voluntarily. They also contain provisions regulating the employment
of women and young people and make no distinction between men and
women. On the contrary, they stipulate equal wages, promotion and
training. Women are also accorded concessions in their working hours
if they are nursing or pregnant, as from the sixth month, as well
as other concessions in their retirement years.
Article 8. The right to form and join trade
unions
It should be stated that the Government of the
Republic of Yemen is fully committed to the full substance of article
8 of the Covenant concerning the rights of citizens to form and
join trade unions. Ever since unification, civil and cooperative
activities have been typically growing and thriving as a result
of democratic trends, the multiparty approach to politics and the
enormous focus on completing the establishment of civil society
institutions. In evidence of the above, the number of cooperatives,
civil associations and unions has exceeded 3,500 by the middle of
2003.
The State has recently taken steps to complete
the legislative and legal structure for the functioning of civil
and cooperative associations and to accord them the priorities which
they need by promulgating the Cooperative Associations and Federations
Act No. 39 of 1998 and the Civil Associations and Federations Act
No. 1 of 2001.
Article 9. The right to social security and social insurance
The Social Security Act
In order to guarantee the rights provided for in
the Covenant under this article, the Social Security Act provides
insurance benefits for old age, disability, incapacity, permanent
injury and death.
The Social Welfare Fund
Established by Act No. 31 of 1996, this Fund provides
direct cash assistance to the poor, whom it defines as groups and
categories with no provider, in particular widows, the elderly,
the incapacitated, the disabled and others who have no means of
livelihood. In 1998, the State allocated some 4.5 billion riyals
to this Fund, which has branches throughout the provinces.
Social protection and social insurance systems
The Constitution of the State stipulates that systems
of social protection must be provided for the groups in need of
such protection. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour has a
number of social centres and homes including Welfare and guidance
homes for juvenile delinquents and juveniles at risk of delinquency,
Rehabilitation homes for the disabled, Homes for invalids and the
elderly, Rehabilitation centres for disadvantages women in productive
family centres.
Regional and International Cooperation:
The State endeavoured to strengthen the areas and
channels of cooperation with other States, Arab organizations and
international donor agencies with a view to developing the working
mechanisms of these institutions. Cooperation with these sources
of support produced the following outcomes:
(a) The project to promote the national programme
to reduce poverty. The project comprises a number of components
aimed at increasing employment and vocational training, developing
small projects (small loans) furthering local development and helping
productive families. At a cost of $39 million, the project began
in 1997 for a period of five years.
(b) Projects for the advancement of women and their integration
in development. The cost of the projects amounted to approximately
$1.5 million.
(c) Project for the social rehabilitation of disabled
persons. The cost of the project amounted to approximately $1 million.
(d) Project for the social rehabilitation of children
(e) Project to promote civil organizations. The
aim of this project is to create legislation more relevant to the
country’s democratic development, develop the institutional structure
of civil organizations and fund the implementation of various projects.
(f) Social insurance. The State endeavored to regulate
social insurance for workers in the government, public, mixed and
private sectors through promulgation of the Insurance and Pensions
Act No. 25 of 1991 and Social Insurance Act No. 26 of 1991. Both
of these laws aim to provide security in old age and compensation
for invalidity, death and work injury.
Article 10. Protection and assistance for the
family
The rights spelt out in article 10 of the Covenant
are applied in accordance with paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, as explicitly
contained in the constitutional and legislative framework in the
legal provisions and articles in the laws in force, including the
Personal Status Act, the Labour Act and the Civil Service and Administrative
Reform Act.
The State took steps to design policies and programmes to protect
the family, mothers and children.
The Constitution stipulates that the family is
the basis of society and that it is founded on religion, morals
and patriotism. It also stipulates that the law safeguards the family
as an entity and strengthens family ties.
There are also a number of laws which safeguard
the rights of the family and its care and protection, including
the Personal Status Act No. 20 of 1992, which regulates relations
between family members, the Social Welfare Act, the Social Insurance
Act, the Insurances and Pensions Act, the Labour Act and the Civil
Service Act.
The national strategy on population for the period
1991-2000 also devoted attention to family issues, emphasizing maternal
and child welfare and family planning.
3. Government institutions also devoted attention
to the family through mechanisms and programmes which they established
or within the context of developing family-driven plans, programmes
and projects. Among these governments institutions are: The General
Department for Women’s and Children’s Affairs at the Ministry of
Insurance and Social Affairs, the General Department for Productive
Families and the Development of Society at the Ministry of Insurance
and Social Affairs; the Women and Children’s Division of the Higher
National Committee for Human Rights; the Department of Reproductive
Health at the Ministry of Public Health; and the Gender Statistics
Department of the Central Office of Statistics.
There are also a number of non-official women’s
mechanisms and programmes including the Yemeni Family Welfare Society,
the Society for Family Development; the People’s Charitable Society,
and the Charitable Social Reform Society
In regard to the protection of mothers during and
after childbirth, the Labor Act No. 5 of 1995 accords special benefits
to nursing mothers including reduced working hours for pregnant
and nursing mothers and maternity leave.
Legislative and executive measures
These include:
-Promulgation of a unified national law on the
rights of the child, based on the provisions of the Convention on
the Rights of the Child and all international and Arab instruments
on maternal, child and family welfare.
-Development of the Social Assistance Act.
-Promulgation of the Disabled Persons’ Welfare and Rehabilitation
Act.
-Promulgation of the Personal Status Act.
-Establishment of the Higher Yemeni Council for Maternal and Child
Welfare.
-Development of the action plan of the National Council on Population
Article 11. The right to an adequate standard
of living
Poverty is now one of the main challenges and priorities
of concern to the Republic of Yemen; during the past three years,
it has witnessed greater efforts to combat poverty and a burgeoning
number of mechanisms and institutions which adopt and implement
projects, directly or indirectly, with a view to alleviating the
problem of poverty and its adverse effects on society. This goal
will be achieved through numerous measures including the implementation
of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Plan, the second five-year plan
as well as to support the Social Security Net in its various components
such as the Social Security Fund, the National Programme for Productive
Families and the Development of Society, and the Public Works Project
(labour-intensive structuring).
Article 12. The right to enjoyment of the highest
attainable standard of physical and mental health
Various programs and policies has been developed
to achieve this right including the National Policy on Population,
the national program for Maternal and Child Welfare and Family Planning,
the Youth and Population project; the Demographic Media Communication
project; the project for the integration of women in development..
The objectives of such national policies and plans can be summarized
in the following:
(a) To reduce the infant mortality rate from 83 per 1,000 live births
to 60 per 1,000 live births by 2006;
(b) To reduce the under-fives mortality rate from 122 per 1,000
to 35 per 1,000 by 2006;
(c) To reduce the maternal mortality to approximately half of its
1990 level by 2001 and by another 50 per cent per 1,000 births by
2006;
(d) To increase life expectancy at birth, which is currently estimated
at 58.5 years, to 61 years by 2001 and 63 years by 2006;
(e) To increase the use of family planning methods from the 1991-1992
rate of 9.7 per cent for all methods among married women of childbearing
age to 23.7 per cent by 2001 and 35.7 per cent by 2006.
Article 13. The right to education
The right to education has been guaranteed by the
Constitution, which states “Education is a right for all citizens.
The state shall guarantee education.” Accordingly, Yemen has been
implementing various programs geared towards the realization of
the right to education for all citizens. In addition to giving attention
to enhancing various forms of education including vocational education
and technical training, as well as building the necessary educational
infrastructure, specific attention is paid to achieving by 2006
the following goals:
-Access to basic education opportunities for all
children of school age in order to increase the enrolment rate among
the 6-15 age group from the 1994 figure of 56 per cent to 90 per
cent in 2006, as well as among females from the 1994 figure of 37.5
per cent to 81 per cent by 2006 and among males from the 1994 figure
of 70.8 per cent to 98 per cent by 2006;
-Reduction of the illiteracy rate among females
from the 1994 figure of 76 per cent in 1994 to under 54 per cent
by 2006 and among males from the 1994 figure of 36.7 per cent to
under 20 per cent by 2006, with emphasis on narrowing the gap between
rural and urban areas.
Article 14. The right to compulsory primary education
free of charge
The Constitution also recognizes the right to compulsory
primary education free of charge. To fulfil such commitment, in
the second five-year plan, the strategy for development of the education
sector is directed to recognizing the State’s obligation to ensure
access to education at the primary stage for all citizens and to
expand and improve the standard of education in its subsequent stages.
The Government took steps to draft a national strategy for the education
of girls in order to help in narrowing the gap between the education
of males and females and in applying the principle of free and compulsory
education.
University education and further studies are also
guaranteed. Recognizing the importance of this type of education,
the State has, in recent years, taken steps to diversify the fields
of education and increase the number of entrants of both sexes.
It also stepped up the construction of universities in a number
of provinces in order to meet the increasing needs for higher education.
Article 15. The right to take part in cultural
life and enjoy the benefits of scientific progress
This right is guaranteed by legislation in accordance
with the provision of article 27 of the Constitution and supported
by other legal provisions and articles contained in Act No. 19 relating
to the protection of individuals and society and enjoyment of the
fruits of cultural, scientific and creative activity in all areas
of culture. These laws are applied in practice. A number of policies
have been formulated to achieve such right including the creation
of cultural institutions, sponsoring talented individuals, and honouring
creative young people in the fields of culture, scientific research,
the humanities and the social sciences by presenting them with the
President’s Award in appreciation of their outstanding efforts.
|
