Page 52 - What Kind of Yemen ?

Efforts are being made in Yemen to build a new constitution and
a new form of administration based on it. Passing new laws and imple-
menting those laws is one of the most rational measures that can be

taken against the risk of fragmentation without resorting to weapons.
The aim is to build national unity in Yemen with this new constitution
and the organizational structure it seeks to establish.
Of course, the structure and functioning of the state is not the only
purpose of constitutions; it must also embody features intended to
secure the happiness and well-being of Yemenis. The positive and neg-
ative obligations of the state must therefore be set forth.

Positive obligations include the duties of the state; in other words,
the rights that the citizens expect from the state. Health, housing, work
and social security are all rights of that kind. Such rights naturally
impose various duties on the state in the social domain. These include
taking measures regarding the protection of children and the family,

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