The Peaceful Revolution Youth Council's Supreme Coordinating Committee has conducted a thorough examination of the document summarizing the results from the subcommittee of the Southern Issue team, which focuses on guarantees for the Southern Issue and the transitional justice report presented during the Comprehensive National Dialogue Conference.
While valuing the positive aspects highlighted in the two reports, the Council urges comprehensive changes and reforms to address the underlying imbalances, as their persistence would undermine the positive elements mentioned therein.
Just as the Council stresses the paramount importance of the comprehensive national dialogue conference's success as a fundamental objective of the peaceful popular youth revolution on February 11, aiming for a just solution to the southern issue and the establishment of a modern civil state characterized by justice, law, equal citizenship, and effective governance, it calls upon all dialogue participants to duly consider the conference outcomes, aligning with the national program and ensuing documents that uphold human rights principles and conform to the standards of good and rational governance.
Regarding the document outlining the outcomes of the mini-committee for the southern issue, the Council expresses its appreciation for the proposals aimed at addressing the southern issue in accordance with the 20 and 11 points outlined in the document issued by the mini-committee. However, the Council raises significant concerns about certain texts and phrases within the document that contradict the principles of good governance, equal citizenship, and human rights, including:
• The document includes passages and expressions that promote discrimination and inequality in political and civil rights among citizens, while extensively discussing regional identities and providing solutions and proposals for past conflicts, ultimately emphasizing conflicting identities instead of promoting national identity.
• The document mandated the appointment to public positions based on regional affiliation rather than on the basis of competence, integrity, and equal opportunities among citizens.
• The document enforced the inclusion of governorates within regions in a top-down way, without considering the autonomous choice of each governorate in selecting the region it deems suitable.
• The document took on the shape of a governing system responsible for the southern issue, disregarding the presence of guarantees to punish the system of corruption, nepotism, and bribery, and providing no assurances for the establishment of good governance institutions to prevent the recurrence of human rights violations and the repetition of abuses of power, corruption, and bribery.
The Council urgently calls upon the members of the Southern Cause team and all participants of the comprehensive national dialogue conference to undertake a re-amendment of the document, with the objective of averting contradictions, safeguarding the cohesive national identity, and preserving the political, economic, and social rights of citizenship, in order to:
• Occupy public positions in state institutions at all levels of government, adhering to criteria of competence, experience, integrity, and providing equal opportunities to all citizens.
• Exercise political rights, including the right to vote and compete for positions and councils at all levels of government, based on residency and employment.
• Implement parliamentary representation across all government levels, with a distribution of seats based on both area and population, ensuring an equitable and balanced representation.
• Conducting competitive elections to fill parliamentary councils and central positions using a single-constituency system, where each citizen has one vote in accordance with the proportional lists system.
Furthermore, the Council stresses the significance of incorporating in any document generated by the dialogue teams and the Dialogue Conference an acknowledgment of the tireless efforts and sacrifices made by the youth of the peaceful revolution on February 11 in various squares and fields of freedom and transformation, deeming it unfortunate that the mini-committee's document for the Southern Issue neglected to recognize their vital role in propelling the change process.
In regards to the submitted draft transitional justice report to the President of the Republic, the Council has conducted a comprehensive review of the recent amendments made to the report, which have unjustifiably excluded crucial articles and texts regarding the youth revolution, the transformative role played by the youth, and the violations that occurred in 2011; in light of this, we strongly affirm the following:
Despite the accompanying imbalances and injustices, the youth of the revolution endeavored to approach the political settlement with a positive outlook, driven by the highest national interest and a commitment to prevent the country from descending into violence.
However, the recent modification made to the transitional justice report represents the utmost culmination of a negative response towards the popular youth revolution and everything associated with it, ignoring the revolution of a people who revolted from one end of the country to the other and the huge sacrifices that opened the door to change to create a promising future that the Yemeni people dream of. And it formed a huge difference between a historical legacy of conflict, blood and violence, thus laying the foundations for the peaceful struggle by which civil and democratic states were built.
While the Council strongly expresses its deep anger towards the recent amendments made to the transitional justice report, which have deleted any mention of the youth of change, the peaceful revolution, and the national celebration of February 11th, it considers these amendments as a denial of the struggles and sacrifices of the youth of the revolution, instead of recognizing their role and fulfilling the goals and demands of their revolution as required by the principles of transitional justice. It views this as an expulsion of the youth of the revolution and their aspirations, which will have severe consequences on the ongoing transformations in the country.
The Council of the Peaceful Youth Revolution asserts that the amendment of the transitional justice report goes beyond a procedural disagreement, signifying a profound divergence in principles with potential implications for the relationship between the youth of the revolution and the political entities arising from the Gulf Initiative and its executive mechanism, due to their blatant violations of the foundational principles outlined in Security Council resolutions and the executive mechanism, which unequivocally acknowledge the pivotal role of the youth of change, the necessity of achieving their aspirations and revolutionary goals, and the urgent requirement to investigate and hold accountable those responsible for the crimes they seek justice for.
The Council, while vehemently condemning the deletion of these articles from the transitional justice report, firmly rejects any form of incomplete transitional justice that pardons wrongdoers, forgives their crimes, and denies victims their rightful justice and fairness. In addition, the Council demands the reinstatement of all deleted articles, which include the following:
• The Transitional Justice Commission must conduct a comprehensive investigation into all incidents and occurrences of 2011, encompassing killings, arrests, and enforced disappearances, while providing rehabilitation and fair compensation to the victims in all governorates of the Republic, and commemorating their memory in the national consciousness, taking into account the findings of the Independent Commission to Investigate Violations of 2011 as mandated by resolutions of the Human Rights Council and the Security Council.
• Fulfilling the legitimate demands of the youth revolution and peaceful southern movement.
• Designating February 11 as a national day.
• Creating a national body to support families of martyrs and the wounded affected by the events of 2011 and 2007, without discrimination or exception, across all parties involved.
• Seeking truth and reparations for all martyrs of the peaceful movement since 2007 and the youth revolution from 2011 onwards.
Mercy and eternal remembrance for the martyrs!
Victory for the peaceful popular revolution!
May the revolution remain peaceful until we achieve victory!
Issued by:
Peaceful Revolution Youth Council, Sana'a
January 03, 2014