The state and human rights: Governance and sustainable human development in Yemen

International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society

Volumn 17, Issue 2, 2003, Pages 213-236

  Chase, Anthony Tirado ^a  

^a OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE   (United States)

Author keywords

Constructivism; Economic development; Human rights; HURIST; International relations theory; Liberalism; Sustainable human development; Yemen

Indexed keywords

EID: 4043098324     PISSN: 08914486     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1023/B:IJPS.0000002995.36926.f5     Document Type: Review

References (41)

1. Hisham Sharabi, Neopatriarchy: A Theory of Distorted Change in Arab Society (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988).
2. This may change in the context of Yemen's post-9-11 security cooperation with the United States. Nonetheless, donor aid levels were estimated to be a relatively low 366 million dollars for 2000, though this is sharply higher than the 175 million dollar annual figure from 1995. Germany, Japan, and Holland are Yemen's leading and most consistent donors, with the United States providing minimal aid-4 million dollars for 2000, with a planned 5 million dollar disbursement for 2001. Scandinavian donors who, globally, have taken a lead in tying development assistance to human rights programming have only a minimal presence in Yemen. Information based on personal interviews with U.N. and donor officials, August 2000 and May-June 2001; The World Factbook; and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development website.
3. The Global Human Development Report for the year 2000 ranks Yemen 148 among 174 countries in terms of the Human Development Index. See, The United Nations Common Country Assessment - Republic of Yemen, 2001, p 3. Gender inequality is reflected in the Gender Development Index (GDI) in which Yemen ranks 133 out of 143 countries-the lowest in the Arab Region. See, UNDP, Human Development Report 2001: Making New Technologies Work for Human Development, (New York: Oxford University Press, pps 212-213).
4. The Global Human Development Report for the year 2000 ranks Yemen 148 among 174 countries in terms of the Human Development Index. See, The United Nations Common Country Assessment - Republic of Yemen, 2001, p 3. Gender inequality is reflected in the Gender Development Index (GDI) in which Yemen ranks 133 out of 143 countries-the lowest in the Arab Region. See, UNDP, Human Development Report 2001: Making New Technologies Work for Human Development, (New York: Oxford University Press, pps 212-213).
5. See, among others, Hans Morgenthau, Politics Among Nations (New York: Knopf, 1960).
6. See, Tony Evans (ed), Human Rights Fifty Years On: A Reappraisal (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998) or Noam Chomsky, The Umbrella of U.S. Power: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Contradictions of U.S. Policy (New York: Seven Stories Press, 1999).
7. See, Tony Evans (ed), Human Rights Fifty Years On: A Reappraisal (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998) or Noam Chomsky, The Umbrella of U.S. Power: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Contradictions of U.S. Policy (New York: Seven Stories Press, 1999).
8. Hans-Peter Schmitz, "Transnational Cosmopolitanism and Domestic Regime Change: Adjusting Strategies to a Moving Target" (unpublished paper, on file with author).
9. Risse and Sikkink, "The Socialization of International Human Rights Norms into Domestic Practices: Introduction" in Risse, Ropp, and Sikkink (eds.), The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999).
10. John Gerard Ruggie, Constructing the World Polity: Essays on International Institutionalization (New York: Routledge, 1998).
11. Alexander Wendt, Social Theory of International Politics (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999).
12. Keck and Sikkink, Activists beyond Borders (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998).
13. Legro and Moravcsik, "Is Anybody Still a Realist?" in International Security, vol 24, 2 (Fall 1999).
14. Keck and Sikkink, Activists beyond Borders.
15. Andrew Moravcsik, "The Origins of Human Rights Regimes: Democratic Delegagtion in Postwar Europe" in International Organization 54, 2 (Spring 2000), p. 224. Moravcsik is referring to Finnemore, Sikkink, and Risse-leading constructivist theorists.
16. See, Tore Lindholm, The Cross-Cultural Legitimacy of Human Rights: Prospects for Research (Oslo: Norwegian Institute of Human Rights, 1990) and Anthony Chase, Islam and Human Rights, Clashing Normative Orders?, Ph.D. dissertation, Tufts University, 2000.
17. See, Tore Lindholm, The Cross-Cultural Legitimacy of Human Rights: Prospects for Research (Oslo: Norwegian Institute of Human Rights, 1990) and Anthony Chase, Islam and Human Rights, Clashing Normative Orders?, Ph.D. dissertation, Tufts University, 2000.
18. Moravcsik, "The Origins of Human Rights Regimes."
19. African Commission on Human and People's Rights, Ref: ACHPR/COMM/AO44/1, May 27 2002, Communication 155/96 The Social and Economic Rights Action Center and the Center for Economic and Social Rights/Nigeria.
20. See, Risse, Ropp, and Sikkink (eds.), The Power of Human Rights, for an impressive series of case studies on the impact of transnational activists and their role in the domestic implementation of rights.
21. For a general overview, see The Second Strategic Report (Sana'a: General Center for Studies, Research and Publishing, 2001). Also Yemen in the 1990s: From Unification to Economic Reform (Washington D.C.: IMF, 2002).
22. For a general overview, see The Second Strategic Report (Sana'a: General Center for Studies, Research and Publishing, 2001). Also Yemen in the 1990s: From Unification to Economic Reform (Washington D.C.: IMF, 2002).
23. Fred Halliday, "The Third Inter-Yemeni War: Causes and Consequences," Asian Affairs (London, June 1995).
24. Radiya Ihsan Allah, Watha'iq harb al-Yemen (Aden, 1996).
25. Mohammed al-Maitami, "Economic Reforms, Democratization and External Relations" paper presented at Middle East Studies Association Annual Meeting, 2002.
26. UNDP, Integrating Human Rights with Sustainable Human Development (New York: UNDP, 1998) and Julia Hausermann, A Human Rights Approach to Development (London: Rights and Humanity, 1998).
27. UNDP, Integrating Human Rights with Sustainable Human Development (New York: UNDP, 1998) and Julia Hausermann, A Human Rights Approach to Development (London: Rights and Humanity, 1998).
28. Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, Arab Human Development Report 2002 (New York: UNDP, 2002).
29. Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom (New York: Anchor Books, 1999) and Integrating Human Rights in Development: What, Why and How (Geneva: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2000).
30. Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom (New York: Anchor Books, 1999) and Integrating Human Rights in Development: What, Why and How (Geneva: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2000).
31. See, for example, Yemeni Health Ministry Report, huquuq al-insaan fi-l tanmiyya al-sahiyya al-wataniyya and Yemeni Economic Planning Office, barnaamaj al-islaah al-iqtisaadi wal-ijtimaa'ii wa ruduudu fi ta'ziiz huquuq al-insaan al-iqtisaadiyya wa-l-ijtimaa'iyya presented at National Conference on Human Rights and Development, Sana'a 2001 (on file with author). See also the reports of the joint UNDP/WHO/Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights HURIST (Human Rights Strengthening) Programme on integrating human rights into economic development planning processes in Yemen.
32. Fred Halliday, Revolution and Foreign Policy: The Case of South Yemen 1967-1987 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989).
33. Sheila Carapico, "Researching Civic Activism in the Arab World" in ISIM Newsletter, http://isim.leidenuniv.nl/newsletter/2/research/3.html, p 2.
34. This is taking place in the context of the HURIST (Human Rights Strengthening) program in which Yemen, due to its aggressive outreach, is one of the initial participants, as described in the next section. HURIST is a joint program of UNDP, WHO, and the OHCHR. Yemen has also worked on rights-based programming in cooperation with each of these agencies individually, as well as other international organizations.
35. See Amnesty International's 202 report on Yemen for more complete details: http://web. amnesty.org/web/ar2002.nsf/mde/yemen!Open.
36. Andrew Cortell and James W. Davis, Jr., "Understanding the Domestic Impact of International Norms: A Research Agenda" in International Studies Review (Spring 2000), vol 2, 1, pps 70-71.
37. Dr. Abdul Karim al-Iryani, "Development is the Pivot of Yemen's Domestic and Foreign Policies." speech delivered 1997, available at Yemeni General People's Congress webpage, http://www.gpc.org.ye/indexE.htm.
38. Human Rights Information and Training Center and Sisters Arabic Forum for Human Rights are two prominent examples of effective Yemeni human rights organizations.
39. Report of the HURIST Mission to Yemen (UNDP-WHO-OHCHR: Geneva, 2001).
40. Risse and Sikkink, "The Socialization of International Human Rights Norms into Domestic Practices: Introduction" in Risse, Ropp, and Sikkink (eds.), The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), pg 7.
41. The World Bank, Engendering Development Through Gender Equality in Rights, Resources and Voice.