COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD TAKES UP REPORT OF YEMEN
Press Release
HR/4268
COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD TAKES UP REPORT OF YEMEN
19960111 GENEVA, 9 January (UN Information Service) -- Yemen had been faced with various predicaments and challenges that had played a part in reducing the variety and number of services provided by the Government, the Committee on the Rights of the Child was told this morning as it began its examination of the initial report of that country.The recent events in Yemen had also disrupted various development projects and had adverse effects on the economic and social structure, the delegation of Yemen said, adding that the country required more support and assistance to alleviate the burdens on children.
The delegation of Yemen is headed by the Vice-Minister for Social Affairs and Labour Insurance, Social Development Sector, Ali Saleh Abdullah. He was accompanied by Farag Bin Ghanem, Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations Office at Geneva; Wahibah Galeb Faree, of the University of Sana'a; Hodah Ali Ahmed, Director-General of Social Affairs; and Abdul Rahman Ali-Musibli, Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Yemen.
Introduction and Discussion of Report of Yemen
Mr. Abdullah, Vice-Minister for Social Affairs and Labour Insurance said various difficulties had been encountered in preparing it. Precise statistics were scarce and contradictory; exact information, particularly concerning victims of the armed conflicts imposed on Yemeni society, was hard to obtain; and accurate facts and surveys on disabled children and young persons in remote rural areas were not available.
According to the report, since the unification of its two parts in 1991, Yemeni society had faced various predicaments and challenges, both at home and abroad, that had played a part in reducing the variety and number of services provided by the Government to children. The recent events in Yemen also disrupted various development projects and had adverse effects on the economic and social structure. More support and assistance was required to overcome problems relating to children.
In response to the list of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the report and to oral questions posed by Committee experts, Mr. Abdullah said the unification efforts and the armed conflicts that followed had
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affected the welfare of the Yemeni child. However, the Government had undertaken a series of measures to ameliorate the situation. The move towards a greater democratic society was also expected to improve the overall situation of the child. Despite the obstacles faced by the Government, efforts were made to upgrade the level of education, health care and other social welfare concerning the child.
The Government was moving towards a market economy with the collaboration and assistance of international financial organization, the delegation said. It had undertaken steps to transform the economy by implementing the necessary measures for a liberal society. Such structural measures were aimed at improving the conditions of the family and children. The latest five-year plan comprised various steps to be implemented in child-care and social welfare programmes.
Regarding the measures taken to implement the provisions of the Convention, Mr. Abdullah said Yemen had ratified numerous treaties pertaining to human rights. A draft law concerning assistance to disabled children was being prepared. The Protection of Mother and Child Council, established in 1992, had temporarily interrupted its activities due to lack of resources. The Government spent about 200 million Yemeni rial annually in support of poor families.
Mr. Ghanem, Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said the protection and promotion of the rights of the child depended on the qualitative changes that were being undertaken in his country. To realize the plan of action regarding population, the necessary resources were allocated and guidelines set up. However, without population control, projects and programmes designed to improve the conditions of mother and child could not be achieved as initially planned. The Government was doing all it could to control the demographic increase. In that regard, Yemen was paying closer attention to the Plan of Action of the Cairo International Conference on Population.
In response to oral questions by experts, the delegation affirmed that there was no discrimination in Yemen between boys and girls. With regard to budget allocation, it said that in order to provide equal opportunity to all, the Government had increased the availability of resources for education and social reforms. However, vast and remote regions could have suffered a shortage of school facilities and other social services. The absence of separate schools for boys and girls could also reduce girls' access to education, thus resulting in a seemingly discriminatory situation.
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