Yemen's human rights minister visits RI

JAKARTA: Yemen's Minister for Human Rights Amat al-Aleem Alsoswa left the country on Sunday after a three-day visit in which she shared her country's experiences with Indonesia on dealing with human rights issues.

"Yemen and Indonesia have so many things in common. The majority of both countries' population embrace Islam and both are Asian countries with emerging democracies. Our minister for human rights came to Indonesia to exchange Yemen's experiences with Indonesia in the field," Yemen Ambassador to Indonesia Ahmed Salem al-Wahishi told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

During her three-day visit to Indonesia, Alsoswa, who is also Yemen's first female minister -- met Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin, State Minister for Women's Empowerment Meutia Farida Hatta Swasono, Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh and members of the National Commission on Human Rights.

Alsoswa, a former journalist, activist and diplomat, exchanged the draft of the planned memorandum of understanding (MoU) on human rights with Hamid.

"The MoU will most probably be signed in August by both countries when they meet during a joint ministerial committee meeting," al-Wahishi said. -- JP