In 1990 a merger of the Yemen Arab Republic with the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen created the Republic of Yemen. The republic is led by a President who is elected from a list of candidates endorsed by the legislature. 2006 election results in Yemen saw the President contested by an opponent with popular support, though the incumbent was re-elected with 77.2% of the vote while his opponent won 21.8%. The term of office has been extended from 5 to 7 years. Election monitors from the European Union deemed the elections to represent the will of the electorate despite instances of intimidation and unlawful voting.

The Prime Minister, who is appointed by the President to be head of government, in consultation with the President selects 35 members for the Council of Ministers or Cabinet. The bicameral legislature consists of an elected 301-seat House of Representatives and an appointed 111-member Consultative Council. 35 women were elected as representatives. Political parties cannot be based on regional, tribal, sectarian, class, professional, gender or racial identities.

Parties cannot be registered if they are deemed to be contrary to Islam or to oppose the goals of the country's revolution or to violate its international commitments. Yet there are 23 political parties. The ruling General People's Congress party controls 238 seats and the Islah party has 46.

Equal rights and equal opportunity are provided in law, but discrimination occurs on the basis of race, gender and disability.

The judiciary is independent in law but is reportedly subject to influence and hampered by corruption. Islam is the state religion, and the Koran is the basis for all laws. Non-Muslims cannot hold elected office. Mosques are monitored for sermons that incite violence or make political statements. A programme has been introduced to train some 300 women preachers in moderate Islam and religious tolerance. The publishing of materials promoting Zaydi Shi'a Islam has been banned.

The law permits amputations and physical punishment for some crimes, but such punishments have not been imposed recently. Security forces are accused of torture and of detaining relatives of fugitives, and an increased number of persons with views critical of the government have been arrested. Unauthorised prisons controlled by tribal groups are reported to exist.

Security forces monitor communications. Web sites are sometimes blocked; some are political others pornographic. Informers are accused of monitoring meetings. Kidnappings have increased to draw attention to political causes and to demand the release of political prisoners. Violent demonstrations protesting the rise in gas prices and the ending of fuel subsidies have resulted in death and injury.

The Press and Publications Law gives journalists access to government information, but transparency is still a problem. Freedom of speech and of the press are guaranteed "within the limits of the law"; the law criminalises criticism of the person of the head of state and publication of false information that may spread chaos and confusion in the country or that may damage relations with Arab and friendly countries. Journalists report that harassment and intimidation influence press coverage and cause self-censorship. Authors require certification before publication and must submit copies of their materials to the government.

Yemen ranks 111th in the Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index for 2006, which notes widespread and growing corruption.

The World Bank recently cut Yemen's funding, explaining that the government's performance indicators had fallen markedly.

Trafficking in persons is prohibited in law and is a relatively new phenomenon in the country. Reports indicate foreign women are trafficked to Yemen for the purpose of prostitution. Organised crime is suspected of involvement in trafficking, and the government has taken some steps to address this problem. NGOs believe some low-level government and security officials are complicit in sex trafficking.

Incidents of anti-Semitism are reported. Jewish children travel to school in a covered vehicle to protect them. The ruling party put forward a Jewish candidate for elections, but the General Election Committee adopted a policy barring all non-Muslims from running for election.

Universal, compulsory and free education is provided for ages 6 to 15, but compulsory attendance is not enforced. Public schooling is available through secondary school. Attendance to Grade 9 is mandatory.

Many girls do not attend primary school. Girls' education is limited by the small number of segregated schools and classrooms, a lack of female teachers, a lack of sanitation facilities and long distances to get to school. Child marriage also interrupts education for girls. A girl should be aged 15 to marry, but girls are sometimes married as young as 12. UNICEF estimates that 41% of children under age 15 are married. Public schools provide instruction in Islam but not in other religions.

Many non-Muslims send their children to private schools. To curb religious extremism, the government increased its efforts to prevent the politicisation of schools. Over 2,000 unlicensed religious schools have been closed on grounds of deviating from the formal approved curriculum, which schools must teach.

A 3-year programme begins at age 3. At this level 45% of education is private. The Net Enrolment Rate (NER) is 1%. There are 1,043 ECE teachers (97% female). The pupil/teacher ratio (PTR) is 15 : 1.

Primary school begins at age 6 and lasts 6 years. 40% of students are girls. At this level 2% of education is private. The NER is 75% (87% of boys, 63% of girls). Of students who enrol in Grade 1, 67% (72% of boys, 60% of girls) reach the last grade of primary school. 4% of students repeat grades.

Secondary education begins at age 12 and lasts 6 years. At this level 2% of education is private. 2% of students in upper secondary education study in technical vocational programmes. The Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) is 54% in lower secondary and 41% upper secondary educations.

192,071 students (26% female) study in tertiary institutions, for a GER of 9%. At this level 9% of education is private. Furthermore, 6,446 Yemeni students are studying abroad, mainly in Saudi Arabia (2,797), Jordan (1,390), Malaysia (480), United Kingdom (464) and the USA (284).

Legislation has been enacted mandating the rights of the disabled to attend universities and be exempted from tuition. Schools are to be accessible to children with disabilities. It is uncertain to what extent the legislation is enforced. 15% of government jobs are reserved for persons with disabilities. Public awareness on the rights of persons with disabilities appears to be increasing, but there are reports that authorities arrest persons with mental illness and send them to prison, without charge, without trial and without adequate medical care.

Yemen has acceded to the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, but legislation governing asylum remains limited. The government cooperates with the UNHCR. Somali and Ethiopians from the Horn of Africa are arriving in Yemen in increasing numbers. Over 80,000 registered refugees live in Yemen. Officials have told the UNHCR that all non-Somali new arrivals should be detained and deported to their home countries.

Registered refugees are provided with basic health care and education through special facilities. Unregistered refugees and refugees living outside urban areas do not have the same services. Their job opportunities are limited to occasional employment in the informal sector since they cannot work in the formal sector.

Al-Akhdam, an ethnic minority numbering some 200,000, has low social status stemming from their occupation as well as their ethnic origin. They work as scavengers, garbage collectors and porters. Most Al-Akhdam live in slums and shanty housing with no access to basic services. Discrimination against Al-Akhdam and negative public attitudes have resulted in their marginalisation and poverty. Over half of the heads of their households are reported to have no work. An increasing number of Al-Akhdam children are going to school, but many drop out because of costs and to contribute to the family's income. The Al-Akhdam are politically weak.

The government restricts academic freedom, blaming the politicisation of university campuses. Political parties attempt to influence academic appointments and are reported to try to influence university faculty and student elections. Government informers monitor meetings. The president of Sana'a University would not permit the creation of a new student association.

Women are equal to men in conditions of employment, but discrimination is common in both public and private sectors. Mechanisms to enforce equal protection are weak. On quality of life measures rural women and girls fare worse than men. Cultural traditions give women lower status and deprive them of access to, and control over, resources and assets, and they have little access to credit. Women lack adequate maternal health care. Levels of illiteracy are very high among women; in 2003 government statistics reported illiteracy to be 83% among women compared to 43% among men. Though exclusion from public transport restricts their employment prospects, women workers account for 23% of the paid labour force.

Violence against women is illegal, but the legislation is not enforced and abuse occurs. But it is considered a family matter and rarely reported. Social norms require an abused woman to take her complaint to a male relative to intercede on her behalf. The law is lenient to perpetrators of "honour" crimes. Female genital mutilation, though illegal, is practised in some areas. Legislation does not prohibit sexual harassment, but it is not reported as problem in the workplace. Women and girls are trafficked for sexual exploitation.

Women may confer citizenship on children born of foreign fathers if the father dies or abandons the child. A female prisoner may only be released by arrangement with male relatives, whose reluctance sometimes leads to women being held in jail past the end of their sentences.

The Child Rights Law establishes the minimum age for employment as 15 in the private sector and 18 in the public sector. Children aged 12 to 15 years can work with a special permit. These provisions are not vigorously enforced, especially in rural and remote areas. Child labour is therefore a problem. Children as young age 4 work in agriculture, in workshops or as street vendors. In urban areas children work in stores, sell goods and beg on the streets.

Estimates put the number of working children aged 6 to 14 at close to half a million. An ILO programme offers remedial education, vocational training, counselling and reintegration of child labourers into schools. The government has entered into an agreement with a foreign government to combat the worst forms of child labour.

Workers have the right to form and join trade unions. All current unions are federated within the General Federation of Trade Unions of Yemen, which claims 350,000 members in 14 unions. The single trade union system is still in place, but draft amendments to the labour law propose changes to this. Restrictions exist on collective bargaining and the right to strike. The Federation has worked to resolve labour disputes through negotiation, but the government has refused to negotiate new employment conditions.

The Yemen Teachers' Union have recently staged a number of demonstrations and strikes demanding that the government adhere to the 2005 Salaries and Wages Strategy Law, which grants them higher salaries and allowances. During and after the strikes, headmasters allegedly harassed and abused teachers to deter participation in strikes. Headmasters tried to prevent teachers from signing in to work during strike day, effectively blocking their pay for those days. Some headmasters locked the teachers and students inside the school to prevent teachers from participating in the strikes.

A teacher involved in a worker's rights dispute with a headmistress of a school died when his home was burned down. His son, wife, and sister (both also teachers) were seriously injured. The headmistress's husband and son were accused and detained for setting the fire. When the Teachers' Union asked for assistance to settle the dispute, the Ministry of Labour refused to intervene on the ground that the Union was unregistered.

Political parties attempt to control professional associations and try to influence elections. In 2004, when the members of the Sana'a Medical Association elected a chairman associated with the opposition Islah party, the government dissolved and seized the association's assets and formed an alternative medical association. Workers have the right to bargain collectively, except for public servants, foreign workers and domestic servants.

The ILO has criticised the government's practice of vetoing collective agreements on the ground that they are "likely to cause a breach of security or to damage the economic interests of the country." Unions have the right to strike, except those of public sector employees, who must take their grievances to court. University professors staged a series of peaceful strikes for higher wages. The strikes continued intermittently and were suspended when the government agreed to examine the situation. Forced or compulsory labour is prohibited. No minimum wage has been established. A 48-hour work week is in place.