136. The Committee welcomes the State party’s willingness to ratify the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, and the Convention relating to the Reduction of Statelessness, and recommends that it ratify these instruments in a timely manner. 137. The Committee recommends that the State party disseminate widely the Committee’s conclusions and recommendations, in appropriate languages, through official web sites, the media and non-governmental organizations. 138. The Committee requests the State party to provide, within one year, information on its response to the Committee’s recommendations contained in paragraph 135 (b), (c), (d) and (h) above. 139. The Committee, considering that the third periodic report also includes the fourth periodic report due on 8 January 2003, invites the State party to submit its fifth periodic report on 8 January 2007. YEMEN* 140.The Committee considered the initial report of Yemen (CAT/C/16/Add.10) at its 583rd and 586th meetings, held on 17 and 18 November 2003 (CAT/C/SR.583 and 586), and adopted the following conclusions and recommendations. A. Introduction 141.The Committee welcomes the initial report of Yemen and the opportunity to initiate a dialogue with the State party. It regrets, however, that the report, due on 4 December 1992, was submitted almost 10 years late. 142.The report, which provides extensive information on legal provisions but fails to address in detail the practical implementation of the Convention or difficulties encountered in this regard, does not fully comply with the reporting guidelines of the Committee. The Committee welcomes the readiness of the delegation to engage in a frank and open dialogue. B. Positive aspects 143.The Committee welcomes the ongoing efforts of the State party to reform its legal system, revise its legislation and uphold democratic values, in particular: (a)The establishment of the Human Rights Ministry in 2003 aimed at promoting and ensuring respect for human rights, including consideration of individual complaints; (b)The permission granted to many non-governmental organizations to operate freely in the country; (c)The provisions of enacted laws protecting human rights, for example, article 149 of the Constitution; article 6 of the Code of Criminal Procedure No. 3 of 1994; article 21 of the Code of Military Crimes and Penalties, 1998; article 9 of the Police Corps Act No. 15/2000; article 35 of the Penal Code; and the ratification by Act No. 36 of 1983 of the Arab Convention on Judicial Cooperation; (d)The stated intention of the State party to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and steps taken at the national level in this respect; (e)The ratification of the major human rights instruments and the incorporation of the provisions of these international treaties into the domestic legal order; (f)The human rights education and training activities and the State party’s openness to international cooperation, as reflected in the agreement concluded with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; (g)The assurances received from the delegation that it intends to establish special institutions (“halfway houses”) to receive vulnerable women leaving prison; (h)The access accorded to the International Committee of the Red Cross to persons held by the Political Security Department. C. Factors and difficulties impeding the implementation of the Convention 144.The Committee, while aware of the difficulties that the State party faces in its prolonged fight against terrorism, recalls that no exceptional circumstances whatsoever can be invoked as a justification for torture. It stresses in particular that the reactions of the State party to such threats must be compatible with article 2, paragraph 2, of the Convention and within the limits of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001). D. Subjects of concern 145.The Committee expresses concern about the following: (a)The lack of a comprehensive definition of torture in the domestic law as set out in article 1 of the Convention; (b)The nature of some criminal sanctions, in particular flogging and amputation of limbs, which may be in breach of the Convention; (c)Reports of the frequent practice of incommunicado detention by Political Security Department officials, including occurrences of mass arrests and detention for prolonged periods without judicial process;