Sada Organization Launches a Policy Paper on the Absence of Digital Rights Legislation and its Impact on Journalists and Human Rights Defenders in Yemen

Sada Organization Launches a Policy Paper on the Absence of Digital Rights Legislation and its Impact on Journalists and Human Rights Defenders in Yemen

The National Organization of Yemeni Reporters "SADA" launched today a policy paper on the absence of digital rights legislation and its impact on increasing violations against journalists and human rights defenders in Yemen.

The paper, which was discussed virtually by journalists and human rights activists, highlighted the absence of national legislation and its failure to keep pace with technical developments, including the lack of a specific law on digital rights, reviewing the available legal texts in Yemen on this matter.

The paper concluded with a set of reasons behind the absence of legislation and laws on digital rights in Yemen, the most important of which is the political instability in the country.

The paper discussed the official and unofficial efforts that contributed to several attempts to develop relevant national legislation and mechanisms, the most important of which was the outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference, whose 2012 document stipulated electronic and digital rights and called for their protection and the protection of communications and privacy. However, these outcomes did not see the light and were halted due to a new cycle of war that Yemen entered in 2014, leading to the collapse of the state's institutions.

The paper proposed several recommendations and solutions for multiple stakeholders, decision-makers, law enforcement agencies, professional civil organizations, and experts in the field, in order to establish theoretical frameworks to issue laws and legislation and create national mechanisms to protect the digital rights of Yemenis, including journalists and human rights defenders.

Yesterday, Monday, Sada Organization had launched a policy paper on digital violations against journalists and human rights defenders in Yemen during a virtual event attended by journalists and human rights defenders.

It is worth noting that the National Organization of Yemeni Journalists "Sada" is a Yemeni, non-governmental, and non-profit organization working in the fields of media development and protection of journalistic and media rights and freedoms. The organization had recently launched several projects, including the #Daman project, which aims to empower journalists, media institutions, and media professionals in Yemen to quickly access specialized, responsive, and comprehensive legal assistance services, enhance their protection, safety, and resilience to threats, and promote freedom of press, opinion, and expression.