This post is also available in: Arabic
BIC highlights the work of Yahya Saleh Mohsen of the Yemen Observatory for Human Rights. Yahya played an instrumental role in bringing a case to the World Bank Inspection Panel involving the Bank’s translation policies in Yemen and beyond.
1. Your name?
Yahya Saleh Mohsen
2. Your organization?
Yemen Observatory for Human Rights (YOHR)
3. How long have you been involved in civil society activism?
I have been working with civil society organizations for a very long time.
4. What drives you to be a civil society advocate?
What drives me to be a civil society advocate is my love for equality and freedom, as well as my faith in humanity and human rights. I have a serious desire to work hard and sacrifice for these beliefs. I have hope that change and reform will come; civil society organizations are the path towards achieving such goals.
5. Could you talk a little about your work with the Yemen Observatory for Human Rights? How did you get involved with them?
I have been working with YOHR for four years. I participated in preparing four annual reports issued by the Observatory. I focus upon the socio-economic issues, especially when it is related to transparency and fighting corruption. I am now the head of the unit for transparency and the fight against corruption at the Observatory. I joined the organization after observing their activism on human rights issues in Yemen. I found that the people working at YOHR are very active, skilled and have a strong educational background in the issues.
6. The World Bank Inspection Panel recently received and registered a complaint on behalf of your organization, The Yemen Observatory for Human Rights. What was the case about?
The complaint was about the blackout policy followed by the World Bank office in Yemen and the World Bank’s refusal to disclose information related to the new Structural Adjustment Programs that was signed and approved secretly on the 6th of December 2006.
7. Why was it important to bring the case to the attention of the Inspection Panel?
This was very important because the Inspection Panel is the only independent channel that can investigate our complaint. Especially, after our previous complaints were ignored by the World Bank’s local office in Yemen. They either refuse our suggestions or just ignore our complaints . And I have to mention, here, the very important role that the Bank Information Center and Mrs. Amy Ekdawi (BIC’s MENA regional manager) have played during the past two years in informing and guiding the civil society organizations in Yemen, which helped them to achieve positive outcomes.
8. What kinds of reforms do you think the World Bank and the other international financial institutions should adopt in order to better serve and collaborate with civil society?
The reforms which the World Bank and IFIs (international financial institutions) should adopt are as follows:
- They have to focus on issues and projects related to transparency and fighting corruption because corruption has become very destructive in our region.
- Commitment to effective and productive work and partnership with civil society. The IFIs should collaborate with active non-governmental organizations and not just government-allied civil society organizations.
Let me reiterate that the most important goal is transparency. IFIs must disclose policy according to the Transparency Initiative and the World Bank’s policy on information disclosure.
9. What is the best way for someone to get involved in human rights activism?
One must be committed and have a strong faith in the importance of change and reform and there should be a value that you are fighting for.
10. What can Westerners/people outside the region do to advocate for human rights in Yemen and the MENA region?
There are many areas in which the West can participate in defending human rights in the region, including freedom and women rights; in addition to the political, social, and economic rights that are guaranteed in international treaties. There are other aspects to human rights work, such as advocating for good governance. Also, you have to consider that the West is an asset because regional governments accept whatever is dictated to it by the Westerners and world powers. On the contrary, regional governments do not comply to any domestic pressures.