A/HRC/21/37 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 5 September 2012 Original: English Human Rights Council Twenty-first session Agenda items 2 and 10 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Technical assistance and capacity-building Situation of human rights in Yemen Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Summary The present report, submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 18/19 and 19/29, provides an updated assessment of the overall situation of human rights in Yemen, made between January and June 2012. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) notes that, while the security situation in some parts of the country, in particular in Sanaa, has improved, violence continues to affect other areas, affecting the lives of individuals and causing massive internal displacement and destruction of infrastructure. In addition, ongoing unrest has contributed to an increasingly dire humanitarian and economic situation affecting the population at large. In the report, OHCHR takes note of some of the positive political and human rights developments reported during the reporting period, inter alia, the presidential elections and the ongoing preparations for the national dialogue that will form the basis for a Constitution; the presentation of a draft decree on the creation of a commission of inquiry to investigate human rights violations during the events of 2011; a draft law on transitional justice; the positive steps taken towards the establishment of an independent human rights institution; the Government’s active cooperation with OHCHR; the increasing number of civil society organizations legally registered; the greater attention paid to women’s issues and their participation in the national dialogue and other transitional processes; and the decline in the use of violence against peaceful protesters and journalists.  GE.12-16454 Late submission.