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Topic Discussion III
Participation in
Democratic Decision-Making:
The Vital Voices of Women, Civil Society and
Pluralism
Room 5
(14 of 22 pages)
So this law is very important to protect people. Although this syndicate has been
approved by the government by a decree in 1991, they had to be renewed in 1992, then they have to be renewed in
1993 and they have to be renewed every single year. In 1994 they did not like them, so they invented another teacher's
syndicate, so there are two teachers syndicates, one is not liked, one is liked, according to the same law. These
problems, with the lack of legal clear structure that people's rights of simply you cannot work, you cannot talk
about civil society and you cannot talk about participation.
Another thing, this law that we need to have should also take any financial control, unjustified financial control.
It's very important. In the law, everyone who has interest in something can have control over it. If I take money
from a donor in my NGO, I am accountable to the donor. They have to see where the money went and I have to give
an accounting report. Nobody else, except our general assembly.
In this context, anyone outside the [inaudible] assembly, outside of the NGO or outside someone who has had interest
in the money, that NGO has no interest in control or intervene or observe.
In our existing structure of law in Yemen, this is lacking. They evented -- our prosecution office, the original,
they invented something they called [inaudible], Public Fund Prosecution Office. What is public fund? In our law,
public fund is the money that's used for general or for public benefit. Anything that is used for the public interest
is public money, like money of Ministries and government, it is protected and it has some governmental tight hand
on it. Now this Prosecution Office in the declaration of the hand of this prosecutor and in the by-laws, but I'll
let you know, the official gazette says, all NGOs, money is public fund. That's an extra control, an extra hand.
It could be used in a very harmful way, to stop anyone from doing any work. If you add that to the 1963 law that
we already have, which obligate every NGO before they get any fund from any person, they should first contact the
government, get the approval, then contact the donors. And any foreign donors is not accepted and actually, it's
a crime according to that law. It's a crime, in the last chapter of the law, if you do it, you go to jail.
This is a problem that we have. So if you're talking of participation, we are working in an environment -- the
legal environment is very scary.
Chair: Can I ask you to be brief. It's very interesting what you're saying. I just want to make sure that
we get enough opportunity for everyone to speak.
Jasmal Adimi: ....it's very important to have a legal structure for people to work, to lead to participation.
Another thing is people to participate in a dialogue, in a forum, in like a town meeting, in some kind of [inaudible]
to talk about politics. There are too many politics. There are surroundings and they have interests in talking
to it and try to get their talks to be decisions and acts. It's like in the country because of a lot of problems,
which also part of it is civil society.
I give you an example, two examples. This conference and a bridge that is going on now in the intersection in the
-- beside Telesheba (ph), there is a fly over. The government decided to build a fly over. And the intersection
it was Berry (ph) Street and Monet (ph) Street. This fly over stopped life and business in the area for one year
and a half, probably more. Nobody has been asked in the whole area. Stores would be closed, business will be closed
in the area for two years. Also houses, they wouldn't be accessible, because they closed the whole area. People
also don't have interest to talk about this and they never participate, because also there is fear. People fear
to talk about things that could affect [inaudible]. They could talk about democracy, they could talk about election,
they could talk about women and things like that, but -- because they are big. When you talk about tangible things
and very little things about your community and surroundings, like overcrowding around the house, a bridge, a fly
over, over their houses, they cannot talk, because they are harassed and they are arrested and they are -- well,
they're in fear.
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