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By:
Dr. Salah Haddash,
Ph.D. Law (France)
 

General
The amended Yemeni Constitution of 1994, adopted multiple Human Rights principles.
Article 6 stipulates that the state confirms that it will act according to the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They are the generally recognized rules of international law.

Economic Rights
The Yemeni amended Constitution of 1994 recognizes various economic freedoms and rights such as the protection of private property, which cannot be confiscated except for public good and then in return for a just indeminisation according to a law; [Article 7, ( paragraph C)].
The second right considers natural resources, according to the Constitution, as state property. Its exploitation by the state must be guaranteed to be for the national good; (Article 8).Social & Cultural Rights
The 1994 amended Constitution proclaims various social and cultural rights, such as:
* Equal opportunities for all citizens in various fields; political, economical, social and cultural; (Article 24).
* The state guarantees freedom of scientific research; (Article 27).
* Education and health and social services being the joint responsibility of the state and society; (Article 32).

Political Rights
* Yemeni citizens have the right to vote in parliamentary and local elections and referendums; (Article 42).
* Forming political parties, associations and trade unions; (Article 57).

Criminal Rights
There are many rights which are adopted by the Yemen Constitution such as:
* The criminal responsibility is a individual one; (Article 46).
* The right to recourse to a court of law for the protection of the citizens legitimate rights.

GUARANTEES
To implement human rights principles in a full and complete form or way, there are various principles which should exist in any constitution that will guarantee the implementation of these rights. These principles are as follows:

1) Rule of Law:
This principle means that all legislation should be impartially implemented on all citizens, including the Head of the State.
According to the Yemeni Constitution, the Yemeni president is to be elected. He also can be accused of high treason or breaking the constitution, etc, and could be put to trial a any other ordinary citizen; (Article 126)

2 ) Separation Between Civil & Military Authorities:
This means that there should be two separate domains. In fact, this separation is a problem in any Third World country because in most of these countries, the head of the state usually comes to power by a coup d'Žtat. Fortunately, this is not the case in Yemen.
The Yemeni Constitution stipulates that the President of the Republic of Yemen is the high commander of the Armed Forces; (110).
In Yemen it is difficult to separate the civil from military authority, for this purpose a Presidential decree was issued to prohibit the Yemeni military from working or being involved in any way in the business field.
Also the election law demands that a military person standing for elections should resign from his military post.
The separation of these two domains is confirmed by the establishment of military courts to deal with persons who work in the army, and the existence of other systems of courts for civil persons.
The success of the civil society in Yemen is related to success of the separation of these two domains.
3) Separation of Authorities:
This principle means that the three authorities (legislative, executive and judiciary) should be separated from each other. And each one of them should have its own domain of action, its own institution, competence and members. Each authority also issues its own acts based on a special law.
The aim of this principle is to avoid the stronger authority dominating the other two. This is important in order to prevent the establishment of a dictatorship, whether civil or military.

The Yemeni Constitution states that there are three different authorities:

A: Legislative authority - the Council of Representatives - is elected directly by the Yemeni citizens; (Article 61).

B) Executive authority consists of;
i- The President of the Republic to be elected indirectly by the Council of Representatives. He is the head of the executive authority; (paragraph, 105).
ii- The Council of Ministers which is the government of the country consisting of ministers and headed by a prime minister; (articles 27 and 28)

C) Judicial authority consists of the courts (primary, appeal, and supreme), the prosecutors general and the supreme judiciary council.

4) Independence of the Judicial Authority:
The Yemeni Constitution proclaims the independence of the judicial authority, financially and administratively.
Any interference in the cases or affairs of the justice system is considered by the Yemeni Constitution as a crime punishable by law.
The Yemeni Constitution confirms the independence of this authority by stipulating that judges are also independent in their work. No person can dismiss a judge from his post, except according to the law. This guarantee confirms the independence of this authority only.
The Supreme Judiciary Council is the highest judiciary organ which nominates judges and dismisses them.

5) Constitutional Court:
This court has the authority to annul any law, if it contradicts the Constitution or if this law will allow an abuse of the legislative authority.
In Yemen there is a department for constitutional affairs within the Supreme Court.

6 ) Judiciary Control & the Administration:
The Yemeni Constitution states that within the court system there will be administrative courts. In the Supreme Court in Yemen there is a department for administrative cases.
This means that any administration act which contradicts a law or abuses any right can be annulled by a court.

By:
Mohammed Hatem Al-Qadhi,
Assistant Managing Editor,
Yemen Times

Background:
Generally speaking, the Salafia refers to a group of people who claim to follow heart and soul the full and literal teachings of prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) and trace the track of his khalifs who absorbed the inner nature and origins of Islam. I am not trying here to trace this movement back in history; rather I will try to focus on the current situation in Yemen and its perspectives on the affairs of the world as relevant from the salafiya movement.
Generally translated, the salafiya movement is a puritanical effort to purify Islam from the distortions that have fallen on it.

The salafia in Yemen was part of the whole Islamic movement. It evolved first as a branch of the Islah party. But after the Yemeni unification in 1998, some differences began to take place among the groups of the Islamic movement. Some dogmatic figures opposed the policy of the Islah party, notably in matters of political affairs like democracy, elections, political plurality, etc. The gulf between them is actually widening gradually. However, they occasionally come together and join hands to combat a common enemy.
The salafia faction has its own leaders and theorists. Sheikh Moqbil Al-Wadi'ey, living in Sadaa, is now considered to be the leading theoretician of the movement in Yemen.

The Teachings:
The movement has polarized our society. Many people visit him in Sadaa to learn from his knowledge. And when they go back to their villages and cities, they spread his teachings among people. In this way, they have enlarged the ground of their movement throughout Yemen. The economic hardships and overall disappointments have led people to an utter despair and frustration. Religious salvation is offered as the only way-out for they give them some relief and make them live for the hereafter thus forfeiting this world. In other words, fatalism.

This is nothing wrong with being religious or keeping in touch with God. But the salafiya preachers try to convince their followers of the idea of the angry God. They tell them that our world has been gripped by the devil. Everything is under the guidance of evil, and accordingly, we are all sinners. That is an easy explanation of our sufferings and anguish. We are being punished by God.

No mercy will be shown on us. Hell is everywhere we go. In short, everything is forbidden (haram). We should all rise against this evil world, and change it, even if by violence. Even if we die doing it.
Some gullible people, due to their hard economic situations, fall easily to this logic. They become 'willing' followers of their sheikhs. They take everything taught to them for granted thinking this is the original purport of Islam. After this brainwashing, they are let loose on society. They go out to implement the orders of the sheikhs blindly and defend them grimly. They don't have the right to express their views rather they advocate ideas and opinions which sometimes they themselves do not understand.
I will illustrate by using some issues and facts.

Salafia & Women
In the mind of these people, women have no place but home. It is their appropriate place as it protects their dignity and feminine nature. Women should not go to school or university. They can only expect to be taught to read and write, and even that, at home, if possible. Formal education is really haram for women, as it drives them away from morality and righteousness.
Even the voice of a woman is a shame. The rigidity goes so far that it is haram and unacceptable for a man to talk to his sister-in-law or see her face. Can one imagine this?

Women can't walk alone in the streets. They have to be accompanied by some escort, usually a male relative, provided he is legally related to her. like a father, brother, husband, etc.
What is more disturbing is that some members of this group have started stopping women who walk streets and try to investigate their identity and that of their male escort. "Hey, show me your marriage contraction document" is their demand; as if you were in the departure lounge of an airport.
Of course, the puritans do not even think of career women. Women are better off at home, and they, of course, know what is good for women.

Salafieen & Education
I have mentioned that the Salafia movement does not attach much importance to female formal education. Actually it doesn't attach any importance to formal education, in general. They believe the most important thing to learn is the Quran. In other words, we should ignore other fields of knowledge and expertise. It is not necessary for us to study physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, computer science, etc.

Indeed we have nothing to do with scientific matters for they are all futile, meaningless and earthly. Religion is the bedrock and key of our salvation. Other fields are of mundane and worldly value. I still remember what a teacher once said to his students. "On Judgement Day, we wouldn't be asked about our lives in English." Thus, it is of no purpose to learn English or any other language.

'Thou Art Kafer!'
If one opposes their puritanical dogmatic beliefs and views, he or she is classed as an infidel (kafer). I don't have any personal prejudice against this group, and it is up to them what they believe. The problem starts when they try to impose their vision on others. But I see them doing worries me about the future of our country. Let me report a true story.
Some young men in a suburb of Taiz were not favorable to their views. They are well-educated and were able to refute their allegations and bring truth to people about different religious affairs. Feeling their position jeopardized, the salafieen issued a decree sentencing these young men to death charging them with apostasy.

Let me give another example. The puritanical leaders even forbid watching TV, listening to music, reading newspapers and magazine. All sorts of games are haram too. They are devilish instruments aimed to deviate people of the right path. The real reason is that these media offer alternatives to the salafia.
Another more serious point is the recent heated competition for control over mosques between the salafia and followers of the Islah. Clashes and conflicts between the two groups took place in many places all over the country. The salafia also push for destroying the shrines of former religious leaders.
This narrow-minded movement is a danger. It is now an embryo, but it could grow to become a big problem. Indeed, it is frightening for it could Afghanize Yemen and push the country into turmoil.
The government and opinion makers of this country should work together to help them, and minimize their danger. Will we wake up before it is too late.