Ref: 8/2012

On 23 January
2012, lawyer Raji Sourani, Vice President of the International Federation for
Human Rights (FIDH), President of the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR)
and Director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), participated in
a conference titled “Towards Contemporary Vision to Build a New Yemen.”  The conference was organized in Cairo jointly
by AOHR and Human Rights Information and Training Center (HRITC) in Yemen.  The conference was attended by a group of
intellectuals, jurists, politicians, Yemeni activists and representatives of
several Yemeni parties and political powers.

Mr. Alaa
Shalabi, Secretary General of AOHR, opened the conference stressing the strong
relations between AOHR and HRITC.  Mr. Izziddin
al-Asbahi, Director of HRITC, spoke about the historical developments taking
place in Yemen, reviewing the mission of the conference and what visions it
would add to Yemen and its future in the fields of governance and
democracy.  Moreover, Mr. Mohammed Fayeq,
one of the founders of AOHR and an Arab intellectual, pointed to an Arab vision
for human rights, while Mr. Ali Nasser Mohammed, Former Yemeni President,
addressed the developments taking place in the Yemeni arena.  Dr. Nabila Hamza, President of the Foundation
for the Future (FFF), talked about the experience of the Tunisian revolution. Mr.
Fateh ‘Azzam delivered a speech on behalf of the Office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva.

In his speech,
Sourani highlighted the importance of accountability, as it is the most
prominent element of any revolution; instead of retaliating, rather ensuring remedy
for victims and learn lessons.  He
explained that immunity granted by the Yemeni parliament to the former Yemeni
President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, does not result in an inability to prosecute him
or hold him accountable. He noted that the victims and their relatives have a
great opportunity to prosecute him through international jurisdiction or the International
Criminal Court; the two mechanisms that can be resorted to when the local
judicial system fails to ensure remedy for the victims.

Additionally,
Sourani stressed that revolutions have to establish democracy, the rule of law,
human rights and human dignity, and that a revolution that cannot achieve this
goal is a failing one.  He also pointed
to the importance of tolerance, pluralism, respect for the freedom of opinion,
and an end to blasphemy criminalization and illiteracy.

Sourani
eventually extended his greetings to Yemen and Yemeni activists noting the
importance of the timing of the conference, as it coincided with the departure
of Yemen’s ousted president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, paving the way for a new
era.  Moreover, Sourani extended greetings
to Izziddin al-Asbahi, who is one of the most prominent activists of the Arab
human rights movement.  Sourani thanked
him for his interest and participation in the conference, emphasizing that AOHR
would always be a key partner with all free people in the Arab World in their
efforts towards democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights.

On 22 January 2012,
Sourani met with Lakhdar Ibrahimi, Chairman of the Committee mandated by the
Secretary-General of the League of Arab States to submit a written vision on
the reform of the League.  Mr. Izziddin
al-Asbahi and Stephanie David, Middle East and North Africa Program Officer in
FIDH participated in the meeting. 

The meeting
particularly addressed cooperation and partnership between the Arab civil
society, Arab human rights organizations and the Arab League and its institutions
in an effective manner, especially in light of the increasing role played by
these organizations in view of the positive developments taking place in the
Arab arena.

At the end of
the meeting, they agreed to present a written vision to Lakhdar Ibrahimi that
reflects viewpoints of a number of representatives of human rights and civil
society organizations.