Practice Relating to Rule 159. Amnesty
In 2004, in its fourth periodic report to the Human Rights Committee, Yemen stated:
We may note at this point that despite the difficult circumstances besetting Yemen in the summer of 1994 as a result of a war of secession, the Government was able to respect human rights. No special courts were established; on the contrary, a general amnesty was proclaimed for all those who took part in the unrest, and fundamental human rights were respected and were not violated in any way. The course of democracy has continued since that time, and the war of the summer of 1994 is over and done with. The subsequent extension of the general amnesty, by republican decree, to the persons whose names were included in the “list of 16” reflected the nation’s conviction that the Republic of Yemen had room enough for all. Appropriate steps were taken to deal with their situations and their property, and they were given posts suited to their skills and qualifications, in accordance with the declaration of amnesty.
In 2007, in its second periodic report to the Committee against Torture, Yemen stated:
[T]he Yemeni Government managed to safeguard human rights, notwithstanding the difficulties that Yemen confronted during the war of secession in the summer of 1994. The Government did not establish any special courts but instead declared a general amnesty for those responsible for the war. Fundamental human rights were protected and were not infringed in any way.