A/HRC/18/21 5. Within the context of its mandate, the Mission considered “recent events” and the “current human rights situation” as comprising events that took place over the period from 1 January and 6 July 2011. This report therefore refers to developments after 6 July 2011 only insofar as they concern the humanitarian situation in Yemen and provide updated information. 6. The Mission visited and held meetings in Sana’a, Ta’izz and Aden. Site visits included locations of demonstrations, places where violence had occurred, hospitals and places of detention. The Mission also reviewed a large number of human rights documentation, including over 6,000 pages of documents, 160 compact discs, 6,000 photographs and 1,800 videos. 7. III. The documentation has been archived for appropriate future use. Background A. Political context and recent developments on the ground 8. Yemen is the poorest and most populous country in the Arabian Peninsula. Unemployment is high and corruption has been widely perceived as being endemic. When the Yemen Arab Republic and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY) united in 1990, President Ali Abdallah Saleh and his allies in the south embarked on a transition towards democracy and a multiparty State, including holding parliamentary, presidential and local elections, and creating a somewhat freer environment for civil society and the media. In 1994, a secession attempt by some Southerners was defeated following a brief conflict. 9. Continuing protests by the Peaceful Southern Movement, otherwise known popularly as “Al-Harak,”2 have, at times, turned deadly, reportedly claiming the lives of over 100 people since 2007. Between 2004 and 2010, in the northern governorates, the Huthis, an armed Zaydi Shi’a movement, engaged in successive armed conflicts with the Government, causing thousands of deaths between 2004 and 2010. 10. Violent Islamist groups have launched attacks since 1992, which have negatively impacted tourism and investment. In this context, the Government’s efforts to counter terrorism have resulted in restrictions on human rights and freedoms.3 11. In 2009, the Government and a six-party opposition coalition, the Joint Meeting of Parties (JMP), agreed, through a national dialogue, on a set of electoral and constitutional reforms. However, this dialogue collapsed in late 2010. On 31 December 2010, the Council of Representatives discussed a series of constitutional amendments, which included reducing the presidential term from seven to five years and removing the two-term limit, as well as introducing an electoral quota for women. 12. The ensuing protests, which have been generally peaceful, were further fuelled by unrest in other countries of the region, and invigorated by the arrest of a female activist on 22 January 2011. By February 2011, permanent sit-ins had been held in several cities, with an increasing number of Yemenis taking to the streets, either to call for governmental reforms or in support of the Government. On 2 February 2011, President Saleh announced that he would neither seek re-election nor have his son succeed him. However, following 2 3 Al-Harak al-Salmi al-Janoubi is the term given to a large coalition of groups which were initially calling for federalism. However, and many are now leaning towards secession from the North. CAT/C/SR.952 and CCPR/CO/84/YEM 5