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NGOs urge Yemeni MPs to approve ratification of Rome Statute

09 Feb 2006

Following news last month that ratification of the Rome Statute would
be discussed in the next session of the Yemeni Parliament, NGOs from
Yemen and beyond have launched a campaign urging Yemeni
parliamentarians to support ratification.

On January 29th, the Yemeni Coalition for the ICC organized a press
conference on this issue, which was attended by over 90 people,
including a number of Yemeni MPs, journalists, and NGOs. The event was
well-covered by the Yemeni Arabic media, and the MPs who attended the
meeting expressed their strong support for ratification. The MPs from
all the political parties were at the meeting, including three members
of the Constitutional Committee, which is the key committee discussing
ratification. The Yemeni Coalition will meet with the head of the
Constitutional Committee next week to further discuss any concerns
about ratification.

The session of Parliament was scheduled to start on Saturday, February
4, but was postponed by a week and is expected to resume on either
Saturday, February 11 or Tuesday, February 14.

Below, please find below a digest with our member letters to MPs,
press releases, and excerpts of press coverage on this issue. Please
note that some of the Arabic articles - presented here in translation
- provide excellent coverage of the positions of the Yemeni
Parliamentarians, explaining in some detail, the reservations to
ratification and ways of overcoming them.

(Some of the documents below are available in, or are originally in
Arabic. If you would like to read them in Arabic, please contact me at
[email protected])

1. No Peace Without Justice Press Release

2. Sisters' Arab Forum - FIDH Open letter to MPs

3. Amnesty International Public Statement Also available at:
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE310012006?open&of=ENG-YEM

Arabic version is at: http://ara.amnesty.org/pages/yem-060206-editorial-ara

4. Civil Society Organizations Alliance of Yemen Statement (excerpts
from unofficial English translation)

5. Yemen Times, NPWJ urges Yemeni Parliament to approve International
Criminal Court law, January 23, 2006 For the full text of the article,
please go to: http://yementimes.com/article.shtml?i=914&p=front&a=3

6.IRIN, Yemeni parliamentarians against impunity pact for US, February
7, 2006 For the full text of the article, please go to: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/8c3e358929731b1f73bc75002861ed3f.htm

7. Gulf News, Yemen Leaders Deny Immunity with US, February 8, 2006
For the full text of the article, please go to: http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Yemen/10017272.html

8.Al-Shoura Net, Local and International organizations urge Yemen to
ratify Rome Statute, January 22, 2006 (unofficial English summary
translation).

For the full text of the original Arabic article, please go to: http://www.al-shoura.net/sh_details.asp?det=1818

9. Al-Shoura Net, Yemeni Coalition for the International Criminal
Court attack excuses used to protect criminals, January 29, 2006
(unofficial English summary translation) For the full text of the
original Arabic article, please go to:

http://www.al-shoura.net/sh_details.asp?det=1895

10. Al-Nida' weekly, The ICC is on the Parliament's agenda, Basha
calls for a black list of MPs against ratification, and an honor list
of MPs for ratification./Fears about violating sovereignty and
neglecting immunity ... January 25, 2006 (unofficial English summary
translation)

11. Al Ra'I al `Aam, Immunity is against Islamic Law, January 31, 2006
(unofficial English summary translation)

12. Al Thawra newspaper, Invitation to Council of Representatives to
ratify Rome Statute of ICC, January 30, 2006 (unofficial English
summary translation)

13. Al Wahdawi, [MP] Al-Atwani: The Arab nation suffers from the
practices of its regimes, January 31, 2006 (unofficial English summary
translation)

Thank you,

Best wishes,
Anjali Kamat

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1. No Peace Without Justice Press Release, January 12, 2006

YEMENI PARLIAMENT TO DISCUSS RATIFICATION OF ICC STATUTE.
IMPORTANT STEP IN ARAB WORLD IN FIGHT AGAINST IMPUNITY.

Brussels/Rome 12 January 2006

The Council of Representatives of Yemen will discuss ratification of
the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at its
forthcoming session that will begin next week. No Peace Without
Justice has been invited to Sana'a to brief key legislators on the ICC
on the eve of the vote.

NPWJ has long been working in partnership with the Government of Yemen
on the ratification process of the Rome ICC Statute: the ICC was of
the main pillars of the Sana'a Intergovernmental Regional Conference
on Human Rights, Democracy and the Role of the International Criminal
Court jointly organized by the Government of Yemen and NPWJ in January
2004.

Thanks to the engagement of the Yemeni Government and the insistent
pressure of Yemeni human rights activists, the commitments taken two
years ago are now a step closer to being fulfilled.

Statement by Sergio Stanzani and Gianfranco Dell'Alba, President and
Secretary General of No Peace Without Justice:

"We welcome the decision of the Yemeni Parliament to schedule
discussion on the ratification of the Rome ICC Statute and we urge
legislators to vote in favor of its ratification. This decision would
meet one of the recommendations endorsed by all participants at the
Sana'a Inter Governmental Regional Conference on Democracy, Human
Rights and the Role of the ICC that NPWJ organized together with the
Government of Yemen in January 2004.

"The Court's establishment represents an essential milestone in the
development of international justice, in the continuing fight against
impunity for the most serious crimes under international law and for
the defense of fundamental human rights. The Rome Statute entered into
force in July 2002 and, with the recent ratification by Mexico, it has
been ratified by 100 countries across every continent. The Court is
already operational, with ongoing investigations in three situations,
including the Democractic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Darfur (Sudan).

"Yemen's ratification would represent an important step towards
greater support in the Arab world for the Court and would put this
country in a position of leading the way to more active participation
from the broader Middle East and North Africa region. The Rome Statute
is a rigorous and flexible instrument, conceived to be adapted to
different juridical systems, including those as complex as Arab systems.

"At the same time, by becoming party to the Rome Statute and by
adopting implementing legislation, Yemen would firmly place itself
among those countries whose democratic evolution is encouraging and
who support accountability and the rule of law at the global level.
While Yemen has been recently in the spotlight of the international
press for the wrong reasons, we urge Yemeni lawmakers to demonstrate
the willingness of the country to move towards a future of democracy,
human rights and the rule of law".

For more information please contact Nicola Giovannini, phone:
+32-2-548 3914 - fax: +32-2-548 39 19 - ngiovannini@...

2. FIDH-SAF Open Letter to Yemeni Parliamentarians (Jan 16, 2006)

Excellencies,

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its
affiliated organization in Yemen, Sisters Arab Forum for Human Rights
(SAF) welcome the announcement of the Yemeni Parliament to put the
ratification of the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
on the agenda of the current session.

Two years after launching their ratification campaign and the creation
of the Yemeni Coalition for the ICC, FIDH and SAF urge the Yemeni
Members of Parliament to vote for the ratification of the Statute of
the ICC.

FIDH and SAF believe that the ratification of the Rome Statute by
Yemen could raise Yemen as an example for the Arab region in the fight
against impunity and the respect and promotion of international
justice and human rights, and allow a more active implication and
participation of Yemen in the development of the ICC.

The ICC, created in 2002, is indeed an important instrument in the
fight against impunity all over the world. 100 States are parties to
the ICC, that is already functioning with 4 situations referred to the
ICC (Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic,
Darfur - Sudan), 1 non State Party having recognized the jurisdiction
of the Court over the crimes committed on its territory (Ivory Coast)
and 3 investigations opened by the Prosecutor of the ICC. However, in
the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, only Jordan and
Djibouti have ratified the Rome Statute.

For these reasons, FIDH and SAF call upon the Yemen Parliamentarians
to make all efforts to ensure that:

- Yemen becomes a State party to the ICC by ratifying, during
the current Parliamentary session, the Rome Statute;

- Yemen implements the Rome Statute in its domestic law in
order to allow the national jurisdictions to exercise the principle of
complementarity with the ICC;

- Yemen ratifies the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of
the ICC

- Yemen plays an important role in the MENA region and shares
its experience to promote the ICC among the countries of this region
so to make the Court more universal.

FIDH and SAF, in collaboration with the International Coalition for
the ICC (CICC), initiated a campaign for the ICC in Yemen, illustrated
by the organization, under the high patronage of the Yemeni Ministry
of Human Rights, of a roundtable on the ICC for civil society
representatives on 7-8 January 2004, followed by the creation of the
Yemeni Coalition for the ICC. After more than one year of regular
campaigning, FIDH organized with SAF and the CICC a follow-up mission
to the roundtable in August 2005, during which we had the honor to
discuss more deeply the issue of ICC ratification with the President
of the Yemeni Republic, representatives from the judiciary, as well as
with the Deputy Speaker of the Yemeni Parliament, several
Parliamentarians and the President of the Shura Council .

Sidiki Kaba
President of FIDH

Amal Basha
President of FIDH
SAF Chairperson
CICC Coordinator in the Middle East & North Africa

3. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Public Statement
AI Index: MDE 31/001/2006 (Public)
News Service No: 032
6 February 2006

Yemen: parliamentarians urged to support ratification of the Rome
Statute of the International Criminal Court Amnesty International
today wrote to members of Yemen's parliament, urging them to support
the prompt ratification of the Rome Statute of the International
Criminal Court (Rome Statute).

The Council of Representatives of Yemen will consider the issue at its
forthcoming session. Amnesty International hopes that a positive
endorsement of the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the Council
could open the way for Yemen to shortly become the first Gulf state to
join the new system of international justice.

The ICC was established in 2002 and has since begun its important work
to investigate and prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war
crimes when national courts are unable or unwilling to bring those
responsible for committing such crimes to justice. Investigations are
currently taking place in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),
Uganda and Sudan. The ICC's first arrest warrants have been issued
against five leaders of the Lord's Resistance Army for crimes
committed in northern Uganda since 2002.

The ICC is as an essential and long overdue mechanism to end impunity
for these crimes and to establish an effective deterrent against them
being committed in the future. It is important that all states ratify
the Rome Statute to ensure that the ICC has jurisdiction over these
horrific crimes, wherever they are committed in the world.

In its letter to parliamentarians, Amnesty International notes the
important contribution made by the majority of states from the Middle
East and North Africa towards the establishment of the ICC. Middle
East and North African states played an active role in drafting the
Rome Statute and supported its adoption. When the Statute was opened
for signature, many states indicated their intention to ratify by
signing it, including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, the Islamic Republic of
Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, the Syrian Arab Republic, the United Arab
Emirates and Yemen. Jordan became the first country from the region to
ratify on 11 April 2002. Globally, 100 states have now ratified the
Rome Statute.

Ratification of the Statute would give Yemen an important role as a
state party since it would then be able to participate in the ICC's
oversight and governing body (the Assembly of States Parties) and to
nominate candidates for judges of the ICC.

Amnesty International's letter also addresses the current campaign by
the USA to undermine the ICC. Noting that the USA is the only country
to actively oppose the ICC -citing fears that the ICC could bring
politically motivated prosecutions against US nationals - Amnesty
International argues that such concerns are unfounded because the Rome
Statute contains comprehensive safeguards and fair trial guarantees to
prevent such a situation arising.

The organization notes that there have been a number of unconfirmed
reports that the government of Yemen has signed an unlawful impunity
agreement with the USA, committing not to surrender US nationals
accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes to the
ICC. Amnesty International is calling on Yemeni parliamentarians, if
they have not already done so, to seek clarification from the
government as to whether such an agreement has been signed. If such an
agreement has been signed, Amnesty International is calling on Yemeni
parliamentarians to demand that it be revoked.

Background

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, adopted on 17
July 1998, provides that the ICC will have initial jurisdiction over
genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The Statute entered
into force on 1 July 2002.

States that have ratified the Rome Statute accept the primary
responsibility to investigate and prosecute people accused of
genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in their national
courts. The ICC will only step in when national courts are unable or
unwilling to do so.

For more than two years, the USA has been conducting a campaign to
undermine the International Criminal Court, including by asking states
to sign unlawful bilateral impunity agreements which commit them not
to surrender US personnel accused of genocide crimes against humanity
and war crimes to the ICC.

For more information about the International Criminal Court, please
see Amnesty International's web pages: www.amnesty.org/icc

4. Civil Society Alliance of Yemen public statement (February 1, 2006)

Sana'a, Yemen, February 1, 2006

The Civil Society Alliance of Yemen praises the efforts of the
Sisters' Arab Forum towards Yemen's ratification of the Rome Statute
of the ICC ... and underscores the importance of ratification,
thanking the Sisters' Arab Forum for their pioneering national role in
this regard.

5. Yemen Times, January 23, 2006: NPWJ urges Yemeni Parliament to
approve International Criminal Court law

No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) distributed a press release this week
stating that the Yemeni Parliament will consider approving the ...
[Rome statute of the ICC] at its session next week.

NPWJ, a non-profit organization promoting human rights, was invited to
Sana'a to shed more light on international criminal law on the eve of
parliamentary vote on the law. The group's head said in the statement,
"We welcome Parliament's scheduling the law and we urge MPs to ratify
it." ...

"Yemeni ratification of the law will be a promoting step to the
International Court in the Arab world. It will place Yemen among major
participating countries in the Middle East and North Africa," the
group added. ...

The statement concluded by thanking the Yemeni government and
activists who defend human rights and democracy, saying, "The pledges
and commitments signed by the Yemeni government two years ago now are
due to be fulfilled."

IPS news agency quoted lawyer Mohamed Naji Alao as saying, "Arab
regimes are reluctant to ratify the International Court law because
they think the basis of these laws is not in conformity with their
people." ...

"Abduction, torture and imprisonment without charge or trial are
prevalent in the Arab world. The pretexts of these oppressions are
aggravated under terror fighting laws." ...

6. IRIN, February 7, 2006: Yemeni parliamentarians against impunity
pact for US

Yemeni parliamentarians have dismissed reports that the government has
signed an agreement with the US, committing itself to not surrender US
nationals to the International Criminal Court (ICC). "The government
has not signed such an agreement and it will never sign it," said
Sinan al-Ajji, ruling party MP and rapporteur from the constitutional
committee, which is reviewing the statute. "It's only a matter of time
until Yemen ratifies the ICC agreement. We [the constitutional
committee] have been reviewing the Rome Statute, and now it's within
the agenda of the house and will be discussed in its next meetings,"
he added.

In a letter addressed to the Yemeni Parliament, Amnesty International
noted that "there have been a number of unconfirmed reports that the
government of Yemen has signed an unlawful impunity agreement with the
USA" ...

For more than two years, the US had been conducting a campaign to
undermine the ICC, including by asking states to sign unlawful
bilateral impunity agreements which committed them to not surrendering
US personnel accused of international crimes, AI noted. ...

Opposition MPs have also voiced opposition to a possible impunity pact.

MP Abdul Razaq al-Hagri, of the Islah Islamic opposition party, said:
"even if the government has already signed, we, along with all our
colleagues in the parliament, will demand it be revoked". "I do not
know why the government has been reluctant over ratification although
it is in its interests to ratify it as soon as possible, to protect
ourselves from war crimes and genocide," commented MP, Shawkee
al-Qadi, from the Islah party. ...

AI has called upon MPs to seek immediate clarification on the current
status of ratification. "Amnesty International is calling on Yemeni
parliamentarians, if they have not already done so, to seek
clarification from the government as to whether such an agreement has
been signed," said a statement. ...

Apart from trying people for international crimes, the court is
considered an essential mechanism to end impunity and establish an
effective deterrent against crimes being committed in the future.

7. Gulf News, February 8, 2006: Yemen leaders deny immunity pact with
US By Nasser Arabyee

Yemeni Parliamentarians rubbished reports that the government has
signed an agreement with the United States guaranteeing that it will
not surrender US citizens to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In interviews with Gulf News, MPs from both ruling party and
Opposition confirmed that the Parliament will stand against such an
agreement. "The government has not signed such an agreement (with the
United States) and it will never sign it," said the ruling party MP,
Sinan Al Ajji, rapporteur of the constitutional committee. ...

"It's only a matter of time until Yemen ratifies the Rome Statute of
ICC," he said, adding that the constitutional committee has been
discussing the articles of the treaty. "Now it's on the agenda of the
House and will be discussed in its next meetings." ...

Amnesty International (AI) on Monday called on the Yemeni
Parliamentarians to support the prompt ratification of the Rome
Statute of ICC and demand cancellation of the impunity agreement with
US if it is already signed. ...

[In their] letter to Parliament, AI said: "There have been a number of
unconfirmed reports that the government of Yemen has signed an
unlawful impunity agreement with the US, committing not to surrender
US nationals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war
crimes to the ICC." ...

Talking of the immunity pact, MP Abdul Razaq Al Hagri, of the Islamic
opposition party (Islah), said: "Even if the government has already
signed, we, along with all our colleagues in the parliament, will
demand it be revoked." "I do not know why the government has been
reluctant over ratification although it is in its interest to ratify
as soon as possible, to protect ourselves from war and genocide
crimes," MP Shawkee Al Qadi said. "Why is the government afraid when
it is the victim and not the criminal?" ...

8. Al-Shoura Net, January 22, 2006: Local and International
organizations urge Yemen to ratify Rome Statute

[UNOFFICIAL SUMMARY ENGLISH TRANSLATION]:

The Yemeni government has taken notice of its delay in ratifying the
Rome Statute of the ICC and announced last week that a discussion on
ratification was on the Parliamentary agenda for the coming week. It
is expected that the session will begin with a discussion of the Rome
Statute, in order to facilitate the government's ratification. If it
does ratify, Yemen will become a member of the ICC and the Rome
statute will become effective in Yemen. ...

Yemen signed the Rome Statute in 2000 and the ICC began operations in
2002, but Yemen has not ratified the Statute in the four years since
then, despite continued efforts from international and local
organizations urging the Yemeni government to ratify. ...

Jordan and Djibouti are the only two Arab countries to have ratified
the Rome Statute, and HRH Jordan's Prince Zeid Ra'ad was the President
of the Assembly of States Parties for three years. ...

This delay on the part of the Yemeni government led No Peace Without
Justice and a number of other local and international organizations to
urge the government to ratify. They organized a conference on
democracy, human rights, and the role of ICC in January 2004 in Sana'a
as further incentive for the Yemeni government to join the Court. The
Yemeni government, at this time, promised to ratify the Rome Statute,
but this was just an empty promise and no one from the Council of
Representatives has seriously looked at the Rome Statute between
January 2004 and today. ...

[details from NPWJ press release ... See 1. above for full text]

Yemen has not thus far ratified the Rome Statute as a result of US
pressure and threats to stop economic and military aid to Yemen if it
joins the Court. ...

Washington is pressuring Yemen and other countries of the world
because it, like Israel, has not ratified the Rome Statute. President
Bush withdrew the U.S. signature of the Rome Statute even though this
is not possible under international law....

Washington is worred about ratification in case the ICC decides to
investigate crimes committed by any of its large number of soldiers
stationed across the world. This led to withdrawing its signature, and
also to the signing of bilateral immunity agreements with several
countries in order to dissuade them from joining the Court, or at
least to ensure that these countries will not surrender to the Court
any U.S. citizens accused of committing crimes against humanity, war
crimes, or genocide. The U.S. tried until the last minute to stop a
number of countries from signing the Rome Statute, to try and prevent
the Court from being created in 2002. But the Europeans foiled U.S.
efforts in this regard and the Court was successfully created.

Therefore, the Council of Representatives in Yemen should approve the
Rome statute ratification law and allow Yemen to be a state party to
the ICC. Regardless of whether Yemen will be able to secure a judge or
a prosecutor through ratification - which is quite unlikely, given the
timing - what matters to us is that Yemen ratifies the Rome Statute
and joins the community of nations that have, over the past 5 years,
joined the ICC. Seeing Yemen ratify at the earliest time possible is
the wish of civil society, of human rights activists, and of
international organizations.]


9. Al-Shoura Net, January 29, 2006: Yemeni Coalition for the
International Criminal Court attacks excuses used to protect criminals

[UNOFFICIAL SUMMARY ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

Amal al-Basha, the CICC MENA Coordinator, condemned Arab governments,
including Yemen, for purposely holding back ratification of the Rome
Statute of the ICC under the pretexts of sovereignty, high-level
immunity, and the illegality of surrendering citizens to a foreign
country. In today's strategic meeting of the Yemeni coalition for the
ICC, Basha clarified that these excuses only protected criminals from
prosecution. Furthermore, since Islamic law is the basis of most Arab
constitutional law and Islamic law does not allow for any kind of
immunity, then immunity for high-level officials is the most prominent
of constitutional violations. She added that had placed an emphasis on
protecting the accused from prosecution despite sufficient guarantees
regarding the independence and neutrality of the ICC, and its emphasis
on bringing justice for the thousands of victims. Basha, who heads the
Sisters' Arab forum for Human Rights, further responded to government
excuses about surrendering of citizens by pointing out that the ICC
was not a foreign body, but an international court governed by
international law. Thus surrendering Yemeni citizens to the ICC was
not like extradicting citizens to a foreign country ...

MPs Sultan Hizam Al Atwani and Abdel Razaq al Hagri spoke at the
meeting, as did lawyers Khaled Al Anisi and Nabil Al Mohammedi and
Jamal Al Ja'abi. After four years of procrastination and delay, the
Rome Statute law was finally moved to the Council of Representatives
that sent it to the Constitutional Committee. ...

MP Al Hagri, a member of the Constitutional Committee, had previously
told Shoura Net that the Committee's report was almost ready to be
presented before the Council and that he expected the discussion about
ratification to take place in the coming month. ...]

10. Al-Nida' weekly, January 25, 2006: The ICC is on the Parliament's
agenda, Basha calls for a black list of MPs against ratification, and
an honor list of MPs for ratification./Fears about violating
sovereignty and neglecting immunity By Abdel Halim al Halal

[UNOFFICIAL SUMMARY ENGLISH TRANSLATION

"The CICC believes that the ICC is an integral part of a wider vision
of international justice which includes national courts, truth and
justice mechanism, and mixed international courts, which are all ways
to guarantee the rights of victims and end the worst violations of
human rights." This is from the speech of Anjali Kamat, the CICC
Outreach Liaison for the Middle East and North Africa, at the Regional
Strategy Meeting on the ICC held in August 2005 in Sana'a. This
meeting, organized by Sisters' Arab Forum for Human Rights, was held
in Yemen because it was considered to be the country closest to
ratification in this region. However, our country has still not
ratified the Rome Statute. We know that the Minister's Council
transferred the Rome Statute law to the Council of Representatives in
order for them to approve it. The Constitutional Committee has
finished studying the law and all this is left is for the Rome Statute
to be distributed and discussed amongst all the MPs. So what will
happen after that? This was the question that journalists asked
Constitutional Committee members, including the rapporteur of the
Committee, at the consultative meeting organized by SAF last week for
the Yemeni Coalition for the ICC.

Amal Basha, head of SAF and MENA coordinator for the CICC, said: "This
file on Yemen's ratification of the Rome Statute has been delayed
under review and discussion which has dragged on for over 4 years,
despite the public official position that there is no obstacle to
ratification. ...

Sinan al Ajji, from the Constitutional Committee, said they had found
that a few articles in the Rome Statute seemed to contradict with the
Yemeni constitution and Islamic Sharia', however, he added that the
committee had completed its final report on the matter 7 months ago,
hoping that it would be transferred to the Parliament's agenda without
too much delay. ...

MP Abdel Razaq Al Hagri, another member of the Constitutional
Committee, said that the file should be moved to the Parliament and
critiqued the procedure in setting the Parliamentary agenda, pointing
to the impossibility of discussing some 30 items on the agenda in two
weeks - which is what has led to the constant delay in discussing
ratification. ...

All the MPs present at the meeting indicated their strong support for
ratification. ...

Among the MPs in attendance who are not members of the constitutional
committee, like MP Sultan al Atwani, the SG of the Unionist Nasserite
party, there was a difference in opinion about why Yemen had still not
ratified. Atwani said the question of politics had more to do with
this than an actual delay due to Parliamentary procedure. Furthermore,
he pointed to misunderstandings about the Rome Statue, despite that
fact that experts involved in drafting the Rome Statute had attended a
previous session of Parliament to clarify a number of articles that
seemed to contradict the Yemeni Constitution. Atwani