[24/April/2004]

By Khaled Al-Mahdi, Saba

The first conference of the Association of Senates and Equivalent Councils in Africa and the Arab World (ASECAAW), set to be held in Sana'a in April 25-27 is seen as a new forum for Afro-Arab partnership.

"Undoubtfully, the conference would come out with ideas to serve the region and help consolidate security and stability pour resources into development," Speaker of the Shura Council Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Ghani said in press remarks published last week

"We are very glad to hold this conference in Sana'a, especially amid such circumstances that the region is passing through, which need to be discussed," Abdul-Ghani said.

He said almost all the participating countries share the same anticipations and that they are keen to establish a real partnership to deal with vital issues that affects their future.

Yemen's standing as a pioneer Arab country in adopting systems of democracy and civil societies and giving human rights groups and non-governmental organizations a leading role in the economic and social development drive, is coming increasingly clear to the international community.

By hosting this conference, the region is granting Yemen a new reward for its determination to respect values of democracy and human rights.

Shortly after the two parts of the country unified in May 1990, the new state began to adopt political pluralism system and set up a Human Rights Ministry and opened the door for civil society organizations.

As a matter of fact, it is not the first time that Yemen receive reward for its democratic trend. In 2000, Sana'a hosted the Emerging Democracies Conference, and just two months ago a conference on democracy, human rights and the role of the International Criminal Court was held in Yemen.

The later conference came out with the 'Sana'a Declaration', a document that is being attributed in the recently proposed plans to overhaul the political conditions in the Middle East region.