A/HRC/21/37 I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 18/19, the Human Rights Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human to develop a framework with the Government of Yemen for continued dialogue and strengthened cooperation in the field of human rights, and invited the Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) to present a progress report on the situation of human rights in Yemen to the Council at its nineteenth session. At that session, following its discussion of the said report, the Council adopted resolution 19/29, in which it requested OHCHR to present, at its twenty-first session, a progress report on the situation of human rights in Yemen and on follow-up to Council resolutions 18/19 and 19/29. 2. In accordance with the requests made by the Human Rights Council, OHCHR undertook a mission from 22 to 30 June 2012. The mandate of the delegation, as agreed with the Government of Yemen, was (a) to make an assessment of the situation of human rights; and (b) to obtain information thereon from a wide range of actors, including the Government of Yemen, civil society organizations, victims and witnesses and the United Nations country team. II. Methodology 3. The mission was conducted in close coordination with the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Yemen, whose support throughout the mission was highly appreciated. The Government of Yemen facilitated the visit, allowing the members of the m delegation to be in contact with and meet numerous officials, including the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Legal Affairs, the Minister for the Interior, the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, the Minister for Human Rights, the Prosecutor General, the Deputy Minister for Justice, the Deputy Minister for Public Health, the Chairpersons of the National Security and Political Security offices, the Deputy Governor of Aden and senior United Nations representatives. The delegation also met with representatives of non-governmental organizations, journalists, lawyers, judges, doctors, human rights defenders, and victims of human rights violations and their relatives, who all provided testimonies and documents. The delegation commends the Government of Yemen for its assistance and coordination and was appreciative of the support received from all interlocutors throughout the mission. 4. The present report follows up on the report of OHCHR on its assessment mission conducted from 28 June to 6 July 2011 (A/HRC/18/21), and its first progress report (A/HRC/19/51), which provided information from July until the end of 2011. The present report provides an updated assessment of the overall human rights situation in Yemen, particularly against the backdrop of the recommendations contained in the abovementioned Assessment Mission report and Human Rights Council resolutions 18/19 and 19/29. 5. The delegation visited Sanaa and Aden.1 Site visits included locations of demonstrations and sit-ins, places where violence had occurred, the prison at the Headquarters of Political Security and hospitals. Owing to time and security restrictions, the delegation was unable to visit other parts of the country. All documentation received by the delegation has been archived for appropriate future use. 1 4 OHCHR staff members also visited Ta’izz a week before the mission was conducted. The information gathered was also used in the preparation of the present report.