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Country profile

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Overview

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Since unification in 1990, Yemen has officially been a republic. According to the constitution, “the political system of the Republic of Yemen is based on political and partisan pluralism.” In reality, however, the General People’s Congress (GPC), which is headed by President Ali Abdallah Salih (who won re-election in September 2006 with 77 percent of the vote), dominates the government and continues to hold an absolute majority in parliament as a result of the 2003 elections. In 2001 several constitutional amendments, passed by national referendum, strengthened the powers of the executive branch. The president was given the authority to dissolve parliament without a national referendum, and his term of office was extended to seven years. The Shura Council appointed by the president was almost doubled in size and given enhanced legislative authority. Yemen’s judiciary is perceived as weak and corrupt, and numerous government efforts to effect reform have as yet failed to improve the functioning of the judicial system. In April 2007, a presidential decree was issued declaring the appointment of a new prime minister and Council of Ministers. The ministerial changes were made in response to concerns about Yemen’s declining economy and allegations of corruption. In October 2007, President Salih announced several constitutional reform measures designed to democratize Yemen’s political system and empower local authorities, but the prospect for their implementation remains uncertain.

Branches of Government

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Yemen’s current president, Ali Abdallah Salih, was reelected by universal suffrage in September 2006 for a seven-year term. He won the election with 77 percent of the vote, despite a challenge from the opposition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) coalition candidate, Faisal bin Shamlan. The president appoints a vice president and a prime minister, who in turn appoints the 35-member Council of Ministers. Yemen’s legislature is bicameral, composed of an elected 301-seat House of Representatives (parliament) and an appointed Shura Council with 111 members. The parliament, whose members serve six-year terms, enacts laws, sanctions general state policy and the socioeconomic plan, and approves government budgets and final accounts. The current parliament is dominated by the ruling party, the General People’s Congress; as a result, it has failed to initiate legislation, instead debating policies that the government submits, and is generally perceived as an ineffective check on executive-branch authority. Pursuant to 2001 constitutional amendments, the Shura Council, whose role is primarily advisory, has the power to vote jointly with parliament on any legislative matters of the president’s choice.

Yemen has six types of courts: criminal, civil, personal status, special cases (e.g., kidnaping, carjacking, and acts of sabotage), commercial, and court-martial. In recent years, other limited-jurisdiction courts, e.g., juvenile and public funds courts, have been established under executive authority. The judicial system is organized in a three-tiered court structure. At the base are the courts of first instance, with broad powers to hear all manner of civil, criminal, commercial, and family matters. At the next level are the courts of appeal, one in each governorate and one in Sanaa. Each court of appeal has separate divisions for criminal, military, civil, and family issues. The highest court, the Supreme Court, settles jurisdictional disputes between courts, hears cases brought against high government officials, serves as the final court of appeal for all lower court decisions, and determines the constitutionality of laws and regulations. In addition to this formal court system, there is a system of tribal adjudication. It is responsible primarily for non-criminal issues, but in practice these courts adjudicate criminal cases as well.

Foreign relations

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The 1990–91 Gulf War had a significant negative impact on Yemen’s relations with its Arab neighbors. As a member of the United Nations Security Council during those years, Yemen abstained on a number of Security Council resolutions concerning Iraq and Kuwait, did not support economic sanctions against Iraq, and called for an “Arab solution” to the crisis. Western and neighboring Gulf states responded by curtailing or canceling aid programs and diplomatic contacts. In particular, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait cut off critical financial aid and budgetary support, and Saudi Arabia expelled almost 1 million Yemeni workers, all of which had a profound impact on Yemen’s government finances. Yemen did not succeed in re-establishing diplomatic ties with Kuwait until 1999; in 2000, when a border agreement was signed with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait agreed to resume financial aid. The treaty Yemen signed with Saudi Arabia resolved a 50-year-old dispute between the two countries, providing coordinates for delineating the land and maritime border. In 1995 Yemen and Oman finalized the demarcation of their common border and currently have a strong trade relationship. Yemen’s long-term goal is membership in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and its foreign policy is largely driven by its desire to secure the financial support of GCC member states. At a meeting of international donors in November 2006, the largest block of aid to Yemen, US$1 billion, was pledged by Saudi Arabia.

Although relations with the West were strained as a result of Yemen’s pro-Iraq stance during the first Gulf War, ties were re-established by the mid-1990s when Western democracies urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to extend financial assistance to Yemen. In 1999 the United States began using Aden as a refueling stop for the U.S. Navy. After the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in that harbor, Yemen strengthened its efforts against the Islamist groups responsible for the attack. In July 2001, the United States renewed the bilateral financial aid that had been frozen since the Gulf War. Since September 11, 2001, relations between Yemen and the United States are considered to be significantly stronger. Yemen reportedly values the military and financial support the United States provides, as well as its influence with the IMF, which has serious concerns about Yemen’s commitment to economic reform. According to the U.S. Department of State, as of late 2007 the United States considered Yemen an important partner in the global war on terrorism, providing assistance in the military, diplomatic, and financial arenas. The U.S. government reaffirmed its commitment to provide economic and military support to Yemen during November 2005 and May 2007 meetings between the White House and President Salih. However, in April 2008 the United States embassy in Sanaa was the potential target of a mortar attack. This incident, coupled with Yemen’s refusal to extradite two al Qaeda suspects convicted in Yemen of terrorist attacks, has strained relations between Yemen and the United States.

External threat

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In the aftermath of the 1990–91 Gulf War when Yemen sided with Iraq in its invasion of Kuwait, both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia broke diplomatic ties with Yemen. Although these ties have been restored, tensions remain over the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border; in early 2008, Saudi Arabia reinforced its concrete-filled security barrier along sections of the border in order to stem illegal cross-border activities. Despite increased border security, fugitive Islamist militants from throughout the Gulf region, especially Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Iraq, regularly cross what is still perceived as a lax border into Yemen. This poses a security threat to a country battling terrorism on many fronts.

Internal threat

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Analysts see the greatest challenge to the political dominance of the General People’s Congress as stemming from a range of security threats posed by Islamist and tribal elements within Yemen. Yemen’s topography contributes to a lack of central government control in the more remote governorates, which in turn has enhanced the authority of the country’s well-armed autonomous tribes. Tribesmen routinely kidnap foreign tourists and workers in order to extract political and economic concessions from the government; as recently as May 2008, two Japanese tourists were kidnapped in Marib.

In northern Yemen, since 2005 al-Houthi rebels have carried out attacks against police and soldiers near Sadah; the attackers are believed to be followers of a militant Zaydi cleric killed by Yemeni security forces in September 2004. Despite the negotiation of cease-fires in March 2006, June 2007, and February 2008, thousands have been killed, and fighting continues. Several bombings were reported in May 2008. Since May 2007, in Aden and other southern governorate cities, security forces have battled demonstrations by former army officers, demanding reinstatement and better pensions, as well as unemployed workers. In 2008 these protests have grown in number and intensity. The government also faces a threat from militants from Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Iraq who routinely cross the Yemen–Saudi Arabia border, as well as militant Islamists from Somalia who can access existing arms smuggling routes between the two countries.

Terrorism

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Yemen was the site of two major terrorist attacks—the suicide bombing attack against the USS Cole in October 2000 in the Aden harbor and the bombing of the French supertanker Limburg off the port of Al Mukalla two years later. In 2004 suspects linked to al Qaeda were prosecuted and convicted in Yemeni courts for the Aden attacks as well as other planned terrorist activities. In 2005 dozens of al Qaeda members were tried and convicted in Yemen of planning and perpetrating terrorist attacks against Yemeni officials and Western targets both in Yemen and abroad, including additional suspects linked to the USS Cole bombing. On February 3, 2006, 23 convicted al Qaeda members, 13 of whom were tied to the USS Cole and Limburg bombings, escaped from the maximum-security prison in Sanaa; most remain at large. In September 2006, four suicide bombers were killed in a foiled attempt to bomb two Yemeni oil facilities; two of the four have been identified as being among the group of 23 escaped prisoners. As of June 2008, two al Qaeda suspects convicted in Yemen of terrorist attacks have also been indicted in U.S. courts and are wanted for trial in the United States, but Yemen has insisted that its constitution precludes extradition of Yemeni citizens.

Although al Qaeda continues to use Yemen as a base for training and operations, several incidents in the past two years demonstrate that the country itself is targeted for attack. In July 2007, a suicide bombing in Marib killed eight Spanish tourists; in January 2008, gunmen killed two Belgian tourists in Hadramout; in March 2008, a mortar attack that damaged a school was apparently aimed at the U.S. embassy; and in April 2008, bombs struck a residential complex inhabited by Westerners.

According to the U.S. Department of State, Yemen’s recent counterterrorism record is mixed. The government has been lax in enforcing terrorism convictions, provides lenient requirements for the completion of sentences to persons who surrender, has released all 12 returned Guantanamo detainees, and lacks a comprehensive counterterrorism law. However, Yemen’s government continues to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of terrorist attacks. There is concern that Yemen’s government has a limited capacity for stemming terrorism financing and has been unable to freeze the financial assets of United Nations–designated al Qaeda supporters. There are also reports that Yemeni jihadists are in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Lebanon and that Yemenites constitute one of the largest contingents of foreign fighters in Iraq (about 17 percent of total foreign fighters in Iraq according to some estimates).

Human rights

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According to the U.S. Department of State’s annual report on human rights practices, Yemen’s government has maintained a poor human rights record, continuing to commit various abuses, including the arbitrary arrest and killing of persons critical of the government, especially those affiliated with the al-Houthi rebels of Sadaa. Security forces, which are generally considered corrupt, often detain persons for prolonged periods of time without due process, subjecting them to torture and abuse. Violence and discrimination against women have been reported, as well as discrimination against persons with disabilities and against religious, racial, and ethnic minorities. The ruling party often controls the management of unions and trade union federations.

Although Yemen’s constitution protects privacy, government police forces routinely search citizens’ property without warrants and monitor telephone, postal, and Internet communications. Yemen’s constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press “within the limits of the law,” but this protection is also violated. Police forces often threaten and harass journalists who are critical of the government in order to influence press coverage; physical attacks have also been reported. Some journalists have been placed on trial for writing articles critical of the president or reporting on issues deemed sensitive to the government, and newspapers have been temporarily shut down for the same reasons. In June 2008, the editor of a weekly newspaper was imprisoned for allegedly supporting the al-Houthi rebellion; the government’s action is considered by the U.S. Department of State to be part of a “distressing trend in Yemen of intimidation and prosecution of independent journalists.” Foreign publications are monitored for content and subject to censorship. Legislation was enacted in 2005 mandating that journalists reveal their information sources in certain circumstances and significantly raising start-up costs for newspapers and Web sites.

background note

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foreign relations

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The geography and ruling Imams of north Yemen kept the country isolated from foreign influence before 1962. The country's relations with Saudi Arabia were defined by the Taif Agreement of 1934, which delineated the northernmost part of the border between the two kingdoms and set the framework for commercial and other intercourse. The Taif Agreement has been renewed periodically in 20-year increments, and its validity was reaffirmed in 1995. Relations with the British colonial authorities in Aden and the south were usually tense.

The Soviet and Chinese Aid Missions established in 1958 and 1959 were the first important non-Muslim presence in north Yemen. Following the September 1962 revolution, the Yemen Arab Republic became closely allied with and heavily dependent upon Egypt. Saudi Arabia aided the royalists in their attempt to defeat the Republicans and did not recognize the Yemen Arab Republic until 1970. Subsequently, Saudi Arabia provided Yemen substantial budgetary and project support. At the same time, Saudi Arabia maintained direct contact with Yemeni tribes, which sometimes strained its official relations with the Yemeni Government. Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis found employment in Saudi Arabia during the late 1970s and 1980s.

In February 1989, north Yemen joined Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt informing the Arab Cooperation Council (ACC), an organization created partly in response to the founding of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and intended to foster closer economic cooperation and integration among its members. After unification, the Republic of Yemen was accepted as a member of the ACC in place of its YAR predecessor. In the wake of the Gulf crisis, the ACC has remained inactive. Yemen is not a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

British authorities left southern Yemen in November 1967 in the wake of an intense terrorist campaign. The people's democratic Republic of Yemen, the successor to British colonial rule, had diplomatic relations with many nations, but its major links were with the Soviet Union and other Marxist countries. Relations between it and the conservative Arab states of the Arabian Peninsula were strained. There were military clashes with Saudi Arabia in 1969 and 1973, and the PDRY provided active support for the Dhofar rebellion against the Sultanate of Oman. The PDRY was the only Arab state to vote against admitting new Arab states from the Gulf area to the United Nations and the Arab League. The PDRY provided sanctuary and material support to various international terrorist groups.

Yemen is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Yemen participates in the nonaligned movement. The Republic of Yemen accepted responsibility for all treaties and debts of its predecessors, the YAR and the PDRY. Yemen has acceded to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. The Gulf crisis dramatically affected Yemen's foreign relations. As a member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) in 1990-1991, Yemen abstained on a number of UNSC resolutions concerning Iraq and Kuwait, and voted against the "use of force resolution." Western and Gulf Arab states reacted by curtailing or canceling aid programs and diplomatic contacts. At least 850,000 Yemenis returned from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.

Subsequent to the liberation of Kuwait, Yemen continued to maintain high-level contacts with Iraq. This hampered its efforts to rejoin the Arab mainstream and to mend fences with its immediate neighbors. In 1993, Yemen launched an unsuccessful diplomatic offensive to restore relations with its Gulf neighbors. Some of its aggrieved neighbors actively aided the south during the 1994 civil war. Since the end of that conflict, tangible progress has been made on the diplomatic front in restoring normal relations with Yemen's neighbors. The Omani-Yemeni border has been officially demarcated. In the summer of 2000, Yemen and Saudi Arabia signed an International Border Treaty settling a 50-year-old dispute over the location of the border between the two countries. Yemen also settled its dispute with Eritrea over the Hanish Islands in 1998.

Other sources

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  1. ^ Country profile: Yemen. Library of Congress Federal Research Division (August 2008). Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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