On Monday at the National Dialogue Conference, foreign and Yemeni speakers delivered a variety of topical lectures to working group members.
German expert Reno Herbert delivered a lecture to the State-Building Working Group which focused on the basic characteristics of federalist and various other state systems.
Herbert also spoke how a nation could benefit from either federalist or centralized state systems. In this regard, he reviewed the relevant experiences of particular European nations.
Concerning the possibility of applying federalism in Yemen, he highlighted a number of obstacles which could serve to hinder its application. Among the obstacles he mentioned were those which would arise in connection with Yemen’s current centralized form of government.
Nonetheless, he added, Yemen could continue with the centralized system without any problems on the condition that no regions were ignored or marginalized.
Separately, Canadian expert George Anderson delivered a lecture to the State-Building group on electoral systems. In his opinion, Yemen should have its own, distinct electoral system.
Members of the group proceeded to interact with Anderson, presenting work papers which contained summaries of their discussions and visions on the same topic.
Executive Refugee Management Unit head Ahmed Al-Kuhlani submitted a vision of improved conditions for Yemen’s displaced persons, as well as for those who have been unable to return to their homes.
His lecture was delivered to the National Issues and Transitional Justice Working Group on Monday.
Al-Kuhlani said the NDC should address the issue of displaced persons through an adoption of solutions which could be included in Yemen’s new constitution. His proposed solutions included forbidding and criminalizing wars and a ‘culture of hatred’.
The group’s enforced disappearances and human rights violations committees also received a presentation on human rights violations during Yemen’s 2011 Revolution from HOOD Organization representative Abdulrahman Barman.
A representative of the British Human Rights Organization Reprieve delivered a report on foreign wars against terrorism, as staged within Yemen’s territorial boundaries. The report included information on rights violations against Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as well as violations of Yemeni airspace by U.S. drones.
The report stated that most of the individuals who were placed in detention at Guantanamo Bay were Yemeni, originally number about 116 in total. According to the Reprieve report, only 24 of the Yemeni detainees have so far been released and 3 detainees have died, leaving 89 Yemeni men currently in detention at Guantanamo.
The working group’s recovery of public funds committee hosted Abdulqadir Al-Bana, Executive Director of the Yemen Observatory for Human Rights. Al-Bana discussed the subject of recovering public funds and confiscated lands with the committee.
He advised the committee members to study and learn from international conventions which concern such topics, including the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
Separately, the Rights and Freedoms Working Group heard from representatives of revolutionary youths, the Ismaili sect, the Southern Movement and citizens from Tehama.
The representatives gave presentations which focused on rights violations which had been suffered by people from the respective segments of Yemeni society.
