Distr.

GENERAL

CRC/C/SR.263
12 February 1996

ENGLISH
Original: FRENCH
Summary Record of the 263rd meeting : Yemen. 12/02/96.
CRC/C/SR.263. (Summary Record)

Convention Abbreviation: CRC
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
Eleventh session
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 263rd MEETING
Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva,
on Wednesday, 10 January 1996, at 10 a.m.
Chairperson: Mrs. BELEMBAOGO

CONTENTS

CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS OF STATES PARTIES (continued)

YEMEN (continued)










This record is subject to correction.

Corrections should be submitted in one of the working languages. They should be set forth in a memorandum and also incorporated in a copy of the record. They should be sent within one week of the date of this document to the Official Records Editing Section, room E.4108, Palais des Nations, Geneva.

Any corrections to the records of the meetings of the Committee at this session will be consolidated in a single corrigendum, to be issued shortly after the end of the session.

GE.96-10133 (E)

The meeting was called to order at 10.25 a.m.

CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS OF STATES PARTIES (agenda item 4) (continued)

Yemen (continued) (CRC/C/8/Add.20 and CRC/C.11/WP.5)

1. At the invitation of the Chairperson, Mr. Abdullah, Mrs. Ahmed, Mr. Al-Musibli, Mr. Bin Ghanem and Mrs. Faree (Yemen) took places at the Committee table.

2. The CHAIRPERSON invited the Yemeni delegation to give its replies to questions 20, 21 and 22 in the list of issues (CRC/C.11/WP.5), which had been introduced at the preceding meeting, as well as to the remaining questions put by the members of the Committee at that meeting.

3. Mrs. AHMED (Yemen), referring to question 20, said that, according to Yemeni law, all births must be registered. Every clinic and hospital had an official responsible for completing the procedure, a responsibility shared by officials in the chief towns of provinces.

4. Adoption (question 21) was possible when a married couple could not produce their own children. Applications to adopt children were processed by the courts. If the husband died, the wife was automatically awarded legal custody of any children. In the event of an application for divorce, the court took the best interests of the child into account as far as possible in the granting of custody: it was usually granted to the mother, with the father having visiting rights.

5. In answer to question 22, she said that there was no problem of child abuse in Yemen. Cases of abuse were very rare and the law provided that children must be brought up in the best possible conditions with access to all appropriate services.

6. At the preceding meeting, a question had been asked about children born out of wedlock. The situation in Yemen was strongly influenced by custom and tradition. Unmarried cohabitation was not recognized by the law. In some cases, a mother would entrust the guardianship of a child born out of wedlock to some other person. In other cases, the father might acknowledge the child and the mother and enter into a legal marriage. Alternatively, the child could be adopted or brought up in an orphanage until the age of majority. All the usual services were available to children living in orphanages.

7. Mrs. SANTOS PAIS said that she had asked a question about birth certificates: whether the failure to issue a certificate impeded the child's school enrolment. She had also referred to paragraph 20 of the report (CRC/C/8/Add.20), which said that a mother's right to custody should not be denied by reason of her poor moral character. Was it really in the best interests of the child for such a mother to be awarded custody?

8. The question of children born out of wedlock was an important one because article 2 of the Convention required that they should not be treated

differently from other children. They must not be stigmatized or subjected to social discrimination and there must be no impediment to their access to schooling and other services.

9. Mrs. KARP said that the Committee's experience indicated that no country was free of the problem of child abuse. She would like to know whether the assertion that such abuse was not a problem in Yemen was based on research or on the absence of complaints or reports of abuse. If in fact there were no such complaints or reports, was that because there was no abuse or because society did not concern itself with the problem and abused children had no remedies?

10. At the preceding meeting, she had asked a question about the attitude of society and the legal situation with regard to the killing by another family member of a relative who had brought shame on the family.

11. Mrs. AHMED (Yemen) said that the registration of births had been compulsory in Yemen for 10 years. However, many rural areas still lacked a registration service and the only information on family sizes, etc., in such areas was provided by population censuses. There were cases of abandonment of a child born out of wedlock by its mother out of fear of an unfavourable reaction by society. Such children normally took the name of their natural mother and were entitled to full social acceptance and access to services. Any person could change his family name by means of an application to the authorities and publication of the change in the official gazette. Children having no legal family suffered no impediments in their access to education and other services.

12. The care of children was based on the right of the mother to custody regardless of her moral character and even in the event of her remarriage. If the new husband refused to accept her children, their custody could be entrusted to other relatives on the mother's side. In any event, a child had the right to reside with whichever parent or other relative it wished. All children were treated equally regardless of their relationship with their parents.

13. On the question of child abuse, there were, of course, always exceptions to the rule. The law prohibited the ill-treatment of children, but some social attitudes persisted which might result in such ill-treatment. The abuse of a wife or child was regarded as evidence of a lack of social maturity and was severely condemned in the eyes of the law, religion and society. The law was in fact very severe and such cases of abuse could be punished by imprisonment. A study was being made by Sana'a University to determine how far the legal situation corresponded to the actual situation with respect to child abuse. The results of the study were not yet available, but would be published in due course and appropriate action would be taken. The assertion that child abuse was not a problem was not based on research, but on the absence of complaints.

14. Cases of the killing of a relative by another family member for bringing shame on the family were subject to the same legislation and were treated in the same way as any other murder. No one was entitled to take the law into his own hands in Yemen.
15. The CHAIRPERSON invited the Yemeni delegation to respond to the sections of the list of issues (CRC/C.11/WP.5) on basic health and welfare and education, leisure and cultural activities, which read:
"Basic health and welfare
(Arts. 6, paras. 2, 23, 24, 26 and 18, para. 3,
and 27, paras. 1-3 of the Convention)
Education, leisure and cultural activities
(Arts. 28, 29 and 31 of the Convention)

16. Mr. KOLOSOV proposed that, since time was short and since the report of Yemen did not contain a chapter on special protection measures, the Committee

should skip the topics of basic health and welfare and education, leisure and cultural activities and proceed directly to the section of the list of issues concerning special protection measures.

17. The CHAIRPERSON suggested, as a compromise, that the Committee should hear brief replies from the Yemeni delegation on the first two sections, without discussing them, and then proceed directly to the section on special protection measures.

18. It was so decided.

19. Mrs. AHMED (Yemen) said that, because of the war and the difficult economic situation, the number of persons benefiting from increased education and health services had fallen to 42 per cent of the population. However, the figure had moved back up to 80 per cent in 1995. There were now 1,365 health centres and an increased budgetary allocation had been made for the provision of primary health care, particularly maternal and child care, with the collaboration of the international organizations working in Yemen. The centres provided training for health workers, especially in primary health care for pregnant women and newborn babies. The Ministry of Health had also established facilities for the production of medicines. The private sector was also involved in the provision of health care. The country now had 23 public hospitals and 258 private clinics in operation.

20. With regard to steps taken to address the needs of disabled children (question 25), her Government was operating a successful programme of social and rehabilitation services in homes and centres for disabled children from five to nine years of age. Training was also being provided for mothers of disabled children and for local professionals.

21. Among the social welfare projects established in Yemen for the disabled was the early home education project, to which her Government had allocated 8 million rials, and the community-based rehabilitation project, carried out in conjunction with a Swedish child welfare organization, to which her Government had allocated 3.5 million rials. The services of the community-based rehabilitation project had been expanded to several new regions, reaching an increasing number of children.

22. Disabled children were being progressively integrated into society. They were being incorporated into the educational system and were receiving necessary surgical operations. Beginning in 1995, her country had also implemented development programmes which provided support for the disabled in both rural and urban areas.

23. Other steps taken to meet the needs of disabled children included providing primary health care; strengthening the formal and informal systems of education; promoting compulsory education; providing access to training; informing the public of the disabling effects of certain diseases; and providing jobs for the disabled in the public and private sectors. Various cultural and athletic activities for disabled children were also available.

24. Her Government was trying to improve the overall situation of disabled children. It was taking steps to increase awareness of the needs of that group through media campaigns. A draft law on assistance to disabled children had been submitted to the various ministries involved for their comments. At the same time, legislative provisions promoting the rights of the disabled were already being implemented. They related to the establishment of a special fund for the disabled; the creation of a new group entrusted with rehabilitation services for the disabled; a comprehensive survey of the disabled and the causes of disability; and the inclusion of disability studies in the curriculum of the major universities.

25. In connection with measures being taken to combat harmful traditional practices affecting the health of children (question 27), the minimum age for marriage was defined in the Civil Code. At school and in university, emphasis was placed on the risks of early marriage and the importance of compulsory education. The media also conducted campaigns to educate the public in that regard.

26. The problem of child beggars (question 28) was mainly the result of the difficult economic circumstances in Yemen, including low exchange rates for local currency. Begging was common in certain extremely poor population groups in Yemen. To combat the problem, her country had established social welfare centres to help child beggars acquire skills, a better educational level and a moral grounding.

27. Miss MASON asked whether acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was a problem in Yemen and whether any preparations were being made for combating it, including prevention programmes. Was it true that the subject was taboo or did the authorities not foresee any need to deal with that particular problem?

28. She was not convinced by the assertion that there was no spouse or child abuse in Yemen. Abuse could take many forms, including psychological ones. Despite the social progress achieved in recent years, Yemen remained a patriarchal society and husbands were still in a dominant position. Furthermore, the lack of adequately trained social workers meant that recourse was limited for abused individuals. What, then, were the avenues open to those people? What was the average number of complaints of abuse reported annually? Had child abuse been linked to alcohol abuse or polygamy?

29. Under article 27 of the Convention, parents had the primary responsibility to secure the conditions of living necessary for a child's development. She wished to know what means were available to compel absent fathers to support their families. In view of the increase in child begging in Yemen and reports of children being mutilated by their own parents to increase their "success" as beggars, what social welfare resources were available to assist families whose standard of living was highly inadequate? Did Yemen have a set standard of living?

30. The report failed to make any mention of child sexual abuse, pornography or prostitution. Were such subjects taboo in Yemeni society or were they considered to be private matters? Were young girls blamed for any sexual abuse that might occur? Were existing sexual traditions or the high rate of poverty linked to the reported increase in child prostitution?

31. Under article 39 of the Convention, a State Party was bound to take all the appropriate measures to promote the recovery and social integration of a child victim of any form of abuse. Did the fact that Yemeni children attained their legal majority at the age of puberty (15 years) influence access to social services?

32. Mrs. SANTOS PAIS pointed out that the Convention took a broad approach to protecting children from abuse; under article 19, States parties were bound to take measures to protect children from all forms of violence, injury or abuse, neglect, maltreatment or exploitation. No society could therefore accept any form of violence against children.

33. She was concerned about the increase in the number of beggar children in Yemen and the deliberate mutilation of children for the purpose of begging. Under the country's Juvenile Welfare Act of 1992, child beggars were considered to be delinquent. Yet, the solution was not to punish the child, but to assist him and his family. In that connection, she referred to article 27 of the Convention, which provided that a State party must assist parents to implement the child's right to an adequate standard of living and must, in the case of need, provide material assistance and support programmes. What specific measures in that respect had been taken in Yemen? Had any action been taken to increase awareness of the phenomenon of beggar children?

34. She would appreciate written replies from the delegation of Yemen in response to the questions concerning the system of justice for juveniles. In her view, children of a very young age should not be subject to criminal law. She would also like to know the minimum age at which the death penalty could be applied. Yemen might benefit from United Nations technical assistance in the field of juvenile justice.

35. Mr. KOLOSOV said that, according to the report, the recent decrease in the number of adoptions meant that a growing number of orphans and children of unknown parentage were deprived of a family environment and were consequently exposed to the risk of exploitation. The plan of action for the establishment of children's villages in Yemen represented an interesting approach to that problem. He would like to know whether the plan had actually been implemented and, if so, to what extent.

36. He wondered whether the delegation of Yemen might specify what sort of recommendations it would find useful with regard to the problem of refugee and displaced children, children affected by armed conflict and street children. The recommendations could then be used by the Government of Yemen to assist it in policy-making.

37. Mrs. KARP expressed concern about the fact that, in Yemen, children and adults were placed in the same prisons and detention centres during pre-trial proceedings and after conviction.

38. Mrs. EUFEMIO noted that, according to the report, the child immunization rate in Yemen had dropped and the number of mothers breast-feeding their children had declined. In that connection, she wondered whether the commercial milk supply was adequate, especially in rural areas, and of good quality.
39. The Government of Yemen had concentrated its efforts on strengthening the health infrastructure. However, it also needed to give priority to the other health issues mentioned during the course of the discussion and to include them in its plan of action.

40. One innovative strategy to which she wished to draw attention was that of using supervised teacher assistants to provide education in areas where regular teachers were scarce. Similarly, in her own country, supervised social work assistants provided services in situations where trained professionals were not available.

41. Mrs. AHMED (Yemen) said that the Government of Yemen had attached all due importance to providing health care, particularly for children. In general, the level of health care in Yemen had improved. The low immunization rate had been the result of the circumstances of the civil war and the country's economic crisis. The figures had in fact risen from 42 per cent to 80 per cent in 1995. The Ministry of Health had been training health professionals and hospitals were currently better staffed with doctors, technicians and paramedicals. The number of public and private hospitals and clinics had also risen.

42. Cases of sexual abuse and ill-treatment of children were extremely rare in Yemen. Like other Muslim States, Yemen had legislation to prevent and curb those phenomena, as well as a system of juvenile courts. The fact that the father was the head of the family and responsible for his wives and their children did not necessarily indicate an abusive situation. If the father loved one of his wives more than another, the children of other wives might be affected, but such situations were relatively rare; in any event, the husband was father to all of his children, regardless of who their mother was.

43. The number of child beggars had in fact risen since the most recent war. Many such children belonged, however, to the "Akhdam", who refused to work or to send their children to school. The "Akhdam" were Yemeni citizens like any others and enjoyed the right to education for their children.

44. Mrs. FAREE (Yemen) said that it was not useful to compare Yemeni society to other societies, as the nature of societies varied greatly. In her view, emphasis should be placed on such favourable developments as the ratification of the Convention, which attested to Yemen's commitment to defending the rights and interests of its children. Furthermore, the report should be seen as a national report, not a government one, since many NGOs and people's organizations had participated in its preparation. It both candidly acknowledged Yemen's shortcomings and requested assistance from the Committee in formulating solutions. Since, however, it had been drafted in 1994, when the country had been emerging from civil war, much of the information it contained was unreliable and contradictory. As a social scientist, she was well aware of the futility of taking decisions without the benefit of reliable data. It should also be stressed that, in Yemen, the provisions of the Convention were not contravened by custom, practice or law. The Yemeni Government was, moreover, taking measures to redress the inadequacies of existing legislation.

45. Questions had been asked about the right of a Yemeni child to an adequate standard of living. There were, of course, children who begged in the streets, a problem linked to poverty, but the estimated figures were unreliable; future reports would include reliable data based on fact. The maximum sentence for the crime of sexual abuse in Yemen was death by hanging. As a democratic society, Yemen did not restrict the media; when crimes of that nature occurred, they were reported openly.

46. Yemeni society had greatly suffered as a result of the civil war and all of its citizens were victims, including children, handicapped persons and older persons. The next report would include detailed and concrete information on the legislative measures the Government of Yemen was undertaking to remedy the ravages of that war and to unify the two parts of the country.

47. In Yemen, no sentence of imprisonment could be handed down until it had been proved that the crime had been committed. In a number of cases, children were imprisoned with their mothers, but not of their own choice or because they were implicated in the crime. Their mothers had simply requested that their children should come to live with them in prison because there was no one else to care for them. Children were sometimes held in custody pending a hearing; they could, in certain cases, be released on bail while awaiting sentence.

48. Yemen had many sparsely populated mountain regions. A "mobile schools" programme had therefore been created to provide education to children in those remote areas. That programme had also made it possible to regain lost ground in the education of girl children.

49. Instability and war in Africa had sent many refugees into Yemen at a time when it was suffering from the devastations of its own civil crises. The Yemeni Government had sought assistance from international sources to cope with the influx of refugees; some organizations had come forward, others had not. Yemen alone was unable to do any more than it had already done. It would be useful if the Committee could help the Yemeni Government formulate a set of recommendations for use by international organizations in the provision of aid to refugees.

50. Mr. ABDULLAH (Yemen) said that begging by children was merely one aspect of the broader economic crisis in Yemen, where per capita income was among the lowest in the world. Various unsatisfactory solutions had been put forward, including placing child beggars in special detention centres or providing for their basic needs. One Yemeni law bore indirectly on the problem of child begging: according to Social Security Act No. 1, the State would, under certain circumstances, provide a grant of not less than 200 Yemeni rials to the poor and the unemployed of working age, but it would by no means solve the problem of poverty in Yemen because almost 1 million Yemeni had returned home following the Gulf war, placing a tremendous burden on the State. The Yemeni Government hoped to launch a social development fund in 1996 or 1997, to help create jobs for the unemployed and provide a minimum level of assistance to needy families while they sought sources of income.

51. The World Bank was examining the matter of Yemeni children begging in the streets and the Government hoped that assistance would soon be forthcoming from international funds and organizations. Various centres for the provision of education, health care and other necessary services to child beggars had in fact already opened and, although the Yemeni Government could make no contribution to their support, it fully encouraged their establishment. The economic crisis naturally also had a direct bearing on the existence of child labour. Labour Act No. 5 established legal working hours for children and set guidelines for working conditions. Yemen nevertheless discouraged work by very young children.

52. He drew the Committee's attention to the proposal made in part III.C. of the report for the establishment of children's villages in Yemen, which, in his view, would solve the problems of many of that country's children.

53. Mrs. SANTOS PAIS said that the problem of child begging should be solved by social measures and not by the detention or imprisonment of offenders. However, the mutilation of children by their parents for the sake of income was frankly unacceptable and the State must take decisive action to bring it to a halt.

54. It was a general truth that, in poor societies, prisons bore the greater brunt of poverty; basic care, clothing and education were often lacking. Of particular concern was the imprisonment of girl children with adults. Yemen should provide detailed written information on conditions in its prisons.

55. While it was commendable that a prison sentence could not be handed down in Yemen without a court decision, Yemeni children were sometimes deprived of their liberty before a ruling had been made. Children should never be deprived of their liberty except as a last resort, and then as briefly as possible. Sources had revealed that executions of persons under the age of 18 had recently occurred in Yemen, and that was a matter of great concern, but paragraph 24 of the report referred only to children over 14 but under 15 years of age. Yemen had acknowledged that, under Yemeni law, children were deemed criminally responsible at age seven. Although the judge was empowered to seek solutions other than imprisonment, the criminality of children of such a young age was distressing. Yemen should provide detailed written clarification on those matters.

56. Mr. KOLOSOV reminded the Yemeni delegation that, although non-governmental organizations had in fact been involved in its drafting, the report had been submitted in the name of the Yemeni Government, which bore responsibility for its content.

57. He regretted that, in annex VI to the report, no distinction had been made between social institutions serving homeless children and those serving delinquent children. He was concerned about the issue of juvenile justice in general.

58. Mrs. SANTOS PAIS said that the Government of Yemen should strive to promote awareness of the rights of the child in Yemeni society. Given the high rate of illiteracy, the dissemination of written material was not sufficient. Yemen might wish to seek international assistance, in particular from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The Convention should be included in school curricula and judges, social workers, doctors and other professionals must be made acquainted with the Convention's contents.

59. It would be useful if disaggregated data could be collected on towns and rural areas, the rich and the poor and, more particularly, on girls and disabled children. Coordination between the various departments and NGOs active in the area must be improved so as to prevent duplication of efforts and make the most of the scarce resources available. In deciding on budgetary allocations, priority must be given to the social sector, with particular emphasis on health care, education and services for rural areas, as well as on the needs of girls and street children.

60. Speaking as a lawyer, she stressed the importance of legal reform to bring the Yemeni Constitution and national law into line with the Convention. A number of areas called for improvement. For example, Yemeni legislation on statelessness was at variance with article 7 of the Convention. The question of the criminal responsibility of children must be reviewed; the minimum age for marriage must be raised and must be the same for boys and girls.

61. At the same time, it was essential to improve the status of women so that they could participate in society on an equal footing with men.

62. Any legislation must be based on the best interests of the child. In family life, children should have greater possibilities for expressing their views on matters affecting their lives.

63. Special protection measures must focus on children who had become refugees, had been victims of the war or had been deprived of their liberty by the justice system.

64. Yemen might wish to consider the conclusions adopted in the thematic discussions on the girl child, juvenile justice and the economic exploitation of children.

65. More detailed information was needed on juvenile justice. It might be useful for the Government of Yemen to request technical assistance in that area from the Centre for Human Rights or UNICEF.

66. In keeping with the Committee's practice, she asked the Yemeni delegation to ensure that the country report, the relevant summary records and the Committee's concluding observations were published in Yemen.

67. Mrs. EUFEMIO, referring to the plan of action to set up institutions for providing child care, said that, as she saw it, those were measures of last resort. Services of the kind afforded by SOS-Kinderdorf International (SOS Children's Villages) offered a setting for experimenting with innovative forms of child care.

68. She was concerned about juvenile delinquency. In many cases, children who were not a threat to the community did not require placement in correctional institutions. In that connection, day-care centre coverage must

be broadened and the minimum age for admission must be lowered from four or five years at present to two years. Children would then have an early start in their cognitive development before they began schooling.

69. The Yemeni delegation had spoken of an increasing disintegration of families. In her opinion it might be useful to introduce pre-marriage counselling, in particular for those about to enter polygamous relations.

70. Improving training of social workers was essential. She noted that the Centre for Human Rights had produced a manual for training social workers which was available upon request.

71. Mrs. KARP, agreeing with the previous speaker on the need to train social workers, underscored the importance of training all professionals involved with children, including psychologists, judges and prison staff. Treatment must be made available to children with disabilities or who had been mistreated and to street children.

72. She was disturbed that, as the Yemeni delegation had put it, discrimination was not anchored in the law, but was a fact of life. That being the case, any strategy must focus not so much on legislation, but on real-life priorities. The phenomena of discrimination and economic disparities must serve as a basis for drafting legislation and establishing institutions to cope with those problems.

73. Miss MASON said that the frank report and discussion had given the Committee an idea of the difficulties Yemen was facing; the next report would surely show that progress had been made in improving the situation of children in that country. The Yemeni delegation had stated that Islam sought to promote and protect the well-being of children; that was in line with the goals of the Convention and she noted that Yemen had ratified the Convention without reservations, something that was unusual for a Muslim society.

74. In her view, however, there was still a need to look into certain phenomena present in other societies yet said not to exist in Yemen, such as AIDS, sexual abuse of and domestic violence against children and child pornography. Legislative reform must also clarify the differences between customary, Koranic and civil law and establish which law took precedence in cases of conflicting legislation.

75. As she saw it, there were good traditions and bad ones. The bad ones should be abolished and the good ones developed. The influence of tribal and religious leaders should be used to help implement legislation enacted for the betterment of children in Yemen. The system of social welfare must be improved to help with the physical and psychological recovery of children who had suffered abuse.

76. Mr. KOLOSOV said he hoped that, when the Yemeni delegation returned home, it would meet with child-care officials, explain the Committee's concerns to them and thus help to increase public awareness of the Convention.

77. He was disturbed by the gap between legislation and good intentions, on the one hand, and the reality of the situation, on the other. Priority must be given to putting legislation into practice. If an effort were made to implement the Convention more effectively, that would to some extent overcome the admittedly serious lack of resources. The poorest sectors of the population must be targeted for special budgetary allocations.

78. Concerning legal questions, objective criteria must be developed for ensuring limited legal capacity for children at various stages of their development; that was absent from current legislation.

79. In his opinion, Yemen should submit an interim report in the next couple of years, drafted in keeping with the Committee's guidelines.

80. The CHAIRPERSON, summing up the discussion, noted that the members of the Committee had expressed concern about a number of structural and legislative shortcomings and certain negative practices involving children, in particular girls. Observing that the Committee had requested a supplementary report with updated information, she asked the Yemeni delegation whether it wished to make any closing remarks.

81. Mr. ABDULLAH (Yemen) thanked the Committee for its frank comments and for the mutually beneficial discussion. Yemen would strive to meet the Committee's request for additional information in its second periodic report. It was committed to implementing the Convention and to giving the highest priority to the rights and needs of children. The Committee's recommendations would be taken duly into account in any changes in the Yemeni legal system.

The meeting rose at 1.05 p.m.

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