Mr President,Allow me to extend the gratitude of Sweden to the delegation of Yemen for having responded to the recommendations we made during the 5th session of the UPR. Given that the ADD-document was only available in Arabic, we are grateful that Her Excellency Dr Alban went through all responses in her presentation.
We noted that the government considers some recommendations as already implemented or in the process of implementation. We appreciate that those recommendations were still placed in the category where they are accepted, since it sends a signal that the government agrees on their importance. We would encourage other reviewed states to do the same.
We welcome the acceptance of our recommendation to take measures to ensure that the counter terrorism efforts in Yemen are applied in accordance with human rights obligations. In May, we also recommended further efforts to deal with the problem of violence against women and girls, including honour killings, with a view to ensure that all sorts of discrimination and violence against women is effectively eliminated and in line with international standards. We appreciate the information today that it has been accepted by the government.
Yemen continues to apply the death penalty for a wide variety of offenses. In the review, Sweden and nine other states recommended to take all measures necessary to abolish the death penalty and, as a first step, introduce a moratorium with a view to adhere to the resolutions of the General Assembly. We regret that our recommendation did not enjoy the support of the government and we encourage the government of Yemen to reconsider its’ position in this regard.
Thank you, Mr President.