The constitution concentrates executive and legislative authority in the king. The multiparty parliament consists of the member House of Notables Majlis al-Ayan appointed by the king and a member elected lower house, the Chamber of Deputies Majlis al-Nuwwab. Elections for the Chamber of Deputies took place on September International observers deemed the elections were organized, inclusive, and credible.
Other human rights problems included restrictions on freedom of association and assembly, poor prison conditions, arbitrary arrest and denial of due process through administrative detention, prolonged detention, and allegations of nepotism and the influence of special interests on the judiciary. The government prevented some refugees from coming into the country, deported other asylum seekers, and stripped some Palestinian refugees from Syria of their Jordanian citizenship prior to returning them involuntarily to Syria.
Violence against women was widespread, and abuse of children persisted. Legal and societal discrimination and harassment remained a problem for women, religious minorities, religious converts, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex LGBTI persons. Trafficking in persons remained a problem. Discrimination against persons with disabilities was a problem. Legal and societal discrimination against persons of Palestinian origin remained widespread.
The government restricted labor rights and local and international human rights organizations reported abuse of foreign domestic workers. Impunity remained widespread, and the government did not take sufficiently strong steps to investigate, prosecute, or punish officials who committed abuses. The government took limited steps to investigate, prosecute, and punish officials who committed abuses, but the proceedings were not transparent, and information on the outcomes was not publicly available. There were some reports of arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life. Local human rights organizations alleged that at least three individuals died in custody from torture during the year, but they did not publicly report specifics of the cases.
While the law prohibits such practices, international and local nongovernmental organizations NGOs continued to report incidents of torture and widespread mistreatment in police and security detention centers. The police court case against five police officers charged with the torture of Omar al-Nasir continued. According to a report by the quasi-governmental National Center for Human Rights NCHR , the PSD received and investigated complaints of torture and mistreatment in police stations in ; cases had no further action due to a decision by the police prosecutor, 45 were referred to the chief of a police unit for administrative punishment, and 27 remained pending.
Authorities referred 20 complaints to the police court in comparison with one case in The NCHR received 92 complaints of torture and mistreatment in police stations in The NCHR received complaints of torture and inhuman treatment, but did not report specifics of the allegations. Throughout the year a local NGO reported that, in an effort to humiliate detainees, government agents at times abused them during arrest or detention by making them remove their clothing and threatening them with rape. The NCHR reported in a sharp drop in complaints of torture and mistreatment at prisons and rehabilitation centers, while it observed an increase in complaints of torture and mistreatment against the Anti-Narcotics Department and the Criminal Investigation Department.
The NCHR report documented no effective steps by either the legislative or the executive powers to address torture and called for amending the law to give jurisdiction to ordinary courts to follow up on torture cases to ensure the trial and conviction of perpetrators of torture and that victims received compensation. Authorities held migrants without legal work or residency permits, or charged with other crimes, in the same facilities as citizens.
For information on asylum seekers and refugees, see section 2. Significant problems in older prison facilities included inadequate health care, poor sanitation and ventilation, extreme temperatures, and insufficient basic and emergency medical care. In its report, the NCHR, identified as problems overcrowding; and limited health care, legal assistance for inmates, and social care for the inmates and their families. Detainees reported abuse and mistreatment by guards.
According to a report by the NCHR, in the PSD received 38 cases of allegations of torture and mistreatment in prisons and rehabilitation centers compared to 61 in In the NCHR received eight complaints of torture and mistreatment at prisons and rehabilitation centers compared with 11 in Officials and the NCHR reported overcrowding at most of the prisons, especially the prisons in and around Amman. During the year the government closed eight temporary detention centers for failing to meet acceptable standards, and conducted renovations at an additional 17 temporary detention centers at police stations.
A law stipulates that juveniles and adult detainees should be held separately during the pretrial phases as well. International and domestic NGOs reported that in some instances Islamist prisoners faced harsher prison conditions than other inmates. Authorities often held pretrial detainees in the same detention facilities as convicted prisoners. The General Intelligence Directorate held some persons detained on national security charges in separate detention facilities.
In the NCHR made an unspecified number of announced visits to directorate prisons, where the detainees complained of prolonged pretrial detention. The center received the following complaints about the Intelligence Directorate: According to human rights activists and the NCHR report, the directorate held detainees in solitary confinement and did not allow unsupervised meetings with visitors, including their lawyers. There were also reports of mistreatment, abuse, and torture in their detention facilities. The NCHR report noted a decrease in the number of complaints related to the physical conditions of Intelligence Directorate detention facilities compared with previous years.
Although basic care was available in all correctional facilities, medical staff complained that correction facilities throughout the country lacked adequate facilities, supplies, and staff. The staff was unable to address deficiencies in care available to inmates. Most facilities were unable to conduct blood tests and had limited X-ray capabilities, forcing doctors to rely largely on patient self-reporting for certain conditions.
During the year the PSD instituted a requirement that all temporary detention centers must keep a logbook recording the health status of each prisoner before and after detention. Authorities took no steps systematically to use alternatives to prison sentences for nonviolent offenders. As of the Juvenile Law recommends that judges use alternative sentencing, including community service and vocational training, for juveniles, although authorities had not done so.
There were limited post-release programs and poor classification of inmates. Some newer prisons, such as Umm al-Lulu Prison, offered a range of vocational training programs and employment opportunities for adult male prisoners. There were no prison ombudsmen. In some cases authorities severely restricted the access of prisoners and detainees to visitors. In some cases authorities did not inform the families regarding the whereabouts of detainees and banned family visits. Prisoners could observe their religious practices. Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities and, in some prisons, prison directors without censorship, but authorities rarely investigated allegations of poor conditions.
The government permitted some local and international human rights observers to visit prisons and conduct private interviews. Authorities denied requests by local human rights observers to conduct monitoring visits independently of Karamah and the NCHR. The prime minister-appointed national human rights coordinator organized monitoring visits for several local and international NGO representatives to the Jweideh Prison on January 21 and, after its renovation, on November The coordinator organized a similar visit to Swaqah Prison on March The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention; however, the government did not always observe these prohibitions.
The PSD controls general police functions. The PSD, the Intelligence Directorate, the gendarmerie, the Civil Defense Directorate, and the military share responsibility for maintaining internal security. The PSD, the Civil Defense Directorate, and the gendarmerie report to the Minister of Interior with direct access to the king when necessary, and the Intelligence Directorate reports directly to the king. Civilian authorities maintained control over security forces. According to local and international NGOs, the government rarely investigated allegations of abuse or corruption, and when authorities investigated such allegations, there were few convictions and little to no public information or transparency about the investigation and sentencing.
Local and international NGOs and activists alleged widespread impunity. An Intelligence Directorate liaison officer receives complaints against the directorate and refers them to Intelligence Directorate personnel for investigation. The PSD and the Intelligence Directorate try their personnel internally with their own courts, judges, and prosecutors; authorities rarely published reports about the proceedings. Trials rarely yielded substantive punishments for human rights violations, and authorities did not make such punishments public.
Human rights activists cited fear of official retribution as a reason for the overall lack of official complaints of human rights violations. Through June 30 the PSD Ombudsman Office had received eight complaints against officers that were allegations of harm a lesser charge than torture that does not require a demonstration of intent. Authorities dismissed two cases for lack of evidence, and six remained pending.
As of June 30, the PSD Ombudsman Office had received 32 other complaints against officers for disobeying the orders and instructions of a commander--such as an order to refrain from insulting inmates. Authorities dismissed four cases, and 28 remained pending. The PSD includes a module on human rights in required annual training for all personnel. There is also a module on human rights in the required training for all new officers. During the year there were few reported instances of security forces using excessive force with impunity and failing to protect demonstrators from violence.
On June 13, a year old boy died in Balqa Governorate during a police raid against suspected drug dealers. Police said the boy fell to his death as he ran from security forces. The Public Security Directorate was investigating the incident. In the NCHR received 24 complaints concerning security personnel using excessive force during arrests and searches.
The law allows authorities to detain suspects for up to 24 hours without a warrant in all cases. It requires that police notify authorities within 24 hours of an arrest and that authorities file formal charges within 15 days of an arrest. Authorities can extend the period to file formal charges to as long as six months for a felony and two months for a misdemeanor.
According to local NGOs, prosecutors routinely requested extensions, which judges granted. The State Security Court authorizes judicial police to arrest and keep persons in custody for seven days prior to notification while conducting criminal investigations. This authority includes arrests for alleged misdemeanors.
NGOs alleged that authorities transferred suspects to the State Security Court to extend the legal time from 24 hours to seven days for investigation prior to notification or transferred suspects from police station to police station to extend the period for investigation. The NCHR report criticized the lack of record keeping at police detention facilities, noting that records failed to note the exact time of arrest and the arresting employee.
The penal code allows bail, and authorities used it in some cases. Some detainees reported not having timely access to a lawyer or the ability to contact their relatives at the time of arrest, but authorities generally permitted family member visits, albeit sometimes up to a week after the arrest. Authorities appointed lawyers to represent indigent defendants charged with felonies carrying possible life sentences or the death penalty, although legal aid services remained minimal. The law provides the right to appear promptly before a judge or other judicial officer for a judicial determination of the legality of the detention.
At times authorities held suspects incommunicado for up to one week or placed them under house arrest. A number of human rights activists alleged that authorities held arrestees incommunicado to hide evidence of physical abuse by security forces. In cases purportedly involving state security, security forces at times arrested and detained citizens in administrative detention without warrants or judicial review, held them in pretrial detention without informing them of the charges against them, and either did not allow defendants to meet with their lawyers or did not permit meetings until shortly before trial.
Activists reported that, during the year, officials detained migrant laborers for working without authorization, being absent from their authorized workplace, or lacking proper residency permits. They reported employers physically abused or mistreated some of these detainees. On September 26, the Prisons Administration reported 1, persons were in administrative detention: In the NCHR reported 19, administrative detainees held throughout the year, some as long as five years. The law allows the 12 provincial governors to detain administratively individuals suspected of planning to commit a crime or sheltering thieves, habitually stealing, or constituting a danger to the public.
Authorities held these individuals in prison or house arrest without due process and often despite a finding of not guilty in legal proceedings. The governors may prolong detentions; authorities administratively detained some migrants for several months without charges. Governors used this provision widely, including to incarcerate women allegedly to protect them from becoming potential victims of honor crimes, although the detainees posed no threat to public safety.
Several international and national NGOs noted governors routinely abused the law, imprisoning individuals when there was not enough evidence to convict them and prolonging the detention of prisoners whose sentences had expired. The common practice of judges granting extensions to prosecutors prior to filing formal charges unnecessarily lengthened pretrial detention. Lengthy legal procedures, a large number of detainees, judicial inefficiency, and judicial backlog added to the problem of pretrial detention.
Automation of several legal procedures in recent years reduced the average period of pretrial detention, according to local legal aid organizations. According to human rights organizations, impunity was very common for such violations. The law does not have an explicit provision that entitles victims of arbitrary or unlawful detention to restitution. The Criminal Procedures Law does not provide for routine judicial review of administrative detentions ordered by the 12 governors. Detainees can bring civil lawsuits for restitution for arbitrary or unlawful detention or bring criminal lawsuits for illegal incarceration, but this rarely occurred in practice.
In the only known case of compensation for unlawful detention, in the Court of Appeals upheld a decision by the Amman Magistrate Court to award compensation to an Egyptian worker for unlawful detention. Authorities had administratively detained the worker for 13 months. Additionally, judicial inefficiency and a large case backlog delayed the provision of justice.
Authorities did not always respect court orders. The law presumes that defendants are innocent. According to the law, all civilian court trials, as well as State Security Court trials are open to the public unless the court determines that the trial should be closed to protect the public interest.
Jordan - theranchhands.com
State Security Court trials are generally open to the journalists and NGOs, but the court can decide to close them if it deems it in the public interest. Authorities occasionally tried defendants in their absence. Defendants are entitled to legal counsel, provided at public expense for the indigent in cases involving the death penalty or life imprisonment, but only at the trial stage. Most criminal defendants lacked legal representation prior to and at trial. Officials did not respect the right of defendants to be informed promptly and in detail of the charges against them or to a fair and public trial without undue delay.
Authorities did not uniformly provide foreign residents, especially foreign workers who often did not speak Arabic, with translations and defense. Defendants may present witnesses and evidence and may question witnesses presented against them. Authorities generally granted defendants access to government-held evidence relevant to a case.
Defendants can appeal verdicts; appeals are automatic for cases involving the death penalty. Defendants do not have the right to refuse to testify. Although the constitution prohibits the use of confessions extracted by torture, human rights activists noted that courts routinely accepted confessions allegedly extracted under torture or mistreatment. Defendants before the State Security Court frequently met with their attorneys only one or two days before their trial began. Authorities did not accord defendants adequate time and facilities to prepare their defense. In many cases, the accused remained in detention without bail during the proceedings.
In the State Security Court, defendants have the right to appeal their sentences to the Court of Cassation, which has the authority to review issues of both fact and law. The government allowed international observers to visit the State Security Court and the Police Court to watch court proceedings in October and March.
One of the cases observed at the police court in March was the trial of five police officials accused of torturing and beating Omar al-Nasir to death in September Civil, criminal, and commercial courts accord equal weight to the testimony of men and women. On the other hand, in sharia courts, which have jurisdiction over Muslim marriage, divorce, and inheritance cases, the testimony of one man equals that of two women. Citizens and NGOs alleged the government continued to detain other individuals for political reasons and that governors continued to use administrative detention for what appeared to be political reasons.
On June 14, authorities detained Amjad Qourshah, a professor of religious studies at the University of Jordan. The State Security Court charged him with harming relations with a foreign state under the Counterterrorism Law. The State Security Court rejected six requests for bail from his lawyer before releasing him on bail on September 6. The law prohibits arbitrary interference in private matters, but the government did not respect this prohibition. Citizens widely believed that security officers monitored telephone conversations and internet communication, read private correspondence, and engaged in surveillance without court orders.
Citizens widely believed the government employed an informer system within political movements and human rights organizations. Activists reported that Intelligence Directorate officials withheld documents and threatened to bar children of activists from entering or graduating from university. Former prisoners alleged authorities banned citizens from obtaining security clearances needed for employment.
The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, but the government did not respect these rights. Authorities applied articles of the Counterterrorism Law, the Cybercrimes Law, and the penal code to arrest local journalists. Freedom of Speech and Expression: During the year the government restricted the ability of individuals to criticize the government by arresting a number of activists for political expression and for criticizing foreign governments. Authorities used laws against slander of public officials, blackmail, and libel to restrict public discussion, as well as employing official gag orders issued by the Media Commission.
On August 13, authorities arrested writer Nahed Hattar for posting an editorial cartoon on his Facebook page that included a personification of God. The prosecutor charged him with inciting sectarian strife and racism and insulting religion under the penal code. On September 8, authorities released him on bail. On September 25, a lone gunman shot and killed Hattar as he was entering the courthouse. Authorities detained the shooter.
The same day authorities reportedly identified 10 social media users that they intended to refer to the prosecutor general for spreading hate speech related to the cartoon and the shooting. On September 22, authorities detained social media personality Zain Karazon on charges of slander and libel. Karazon has a following of more than one million on social media platform Snapchat.
Some media sources speculated that a doctor or hospital sued her for criticizing a botched surgery, while other media sources suspected that someone had filed a suit related to a controversy involving a gay Lebanese online personality. On September 29, authorities released Karazon on bail.
Since authorities had already detained al-Malkawi for six months, authorities sentenced him to time served and released him immediately after sentencing. Authorities had arrested al-Malkawi in July for a posting on his Facebook page criticizing Arab and Islamic inaction in protecting Burmese Muslims. All public-opinion polls and survey research require authorization from the Bureau of Statistics, although the law was not enforced.
NGOs stated that the measure could be enforced, even retroactively, and called for the government to rescind it. Press and Media Freedoms: Independent print media existed, including several major daily newspapers, although such publications must obtain licenses from the state to operate. The independent print and broadcast media largely operated with limited restriction, and media observers reported government pressure, including the threat of large fines and prison sentences, to refrain from criticizing the royal family, discussing the Intelligence Directorate, using language deemed offensive to religion, or slandering government officials.
The government influenced news reporting and commentary through political pressure on editors and control over important editorial positions in government-affiliated media. Journalists of government-affiliated and independent media reported that security officials attempted to influence reporting and place articles favorable to the government through bribes, threats, and political pressure. The Audiovisual Law grants the head of the Media Commission the authority to close any unlicensed theater, satellite channel, or radio channel.
The Media Commission cannot grant a new broadcasting license to a company unless all shares are Jordanian-owned. There is a fine for broadcasting without a license. The cabinet, however, must justify the reasons for rejecting a license and allow the applicant to appeal the decision to the judiciary. Authorities arrested or temporarily detained some journalists, and government officials or private individuals threatened some journalists. The court charged Murafai with slander and defamation under the Cybercrimes Law, as well as reporting on a pending case.
The government has a majority of seats on the board for the leading semiofficial daily newspaper, al-Rai , and a share of board seats for ad-Dustour daily newspaper. By law any book can be published and distributed freely. The government subjected journalists to harassment and intimidation. In its semiannual report Media Freedom in the Arab World , the Center for Defending the Freedom of Journalists documented 15 incidents of serious violations against journalists in the country in The center documented 50 violations against 28 journalists covering the September 20 parliamentary elections.
There was once case of deleting photographs from a camera. Censorship or Content Restrictions: The government directly and indirectly censored the media. Journalists claimed that the government used informants in newsrooms and exercised influence over reporting and that Intelligence Directorate officials censored reporting. Editors reportedly received telephone calls from security officials instructing them how to cover events or to refrain from covering certain topics or events, especially criticism of political reform.
Bribery of journalists took place and undermined independent reporting. On occasion, government officials provided texts for journalists to publish under their bylines. At times, editors in chief censored articles to prevent lawsuits. During the year the Media Commission issued several gag orders restricting discussion of certain topics in all forms of media, including social media.
For example, the government issued gag orders restricting discussion of the court cases against Amjad Qourshah and Nahed Hattar, as well as the shooting of Nahed Hattar. The annual report of the Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists noted that 93 percent of journalists surveyed in said they practiced self-censorship. The government continued to enforce bans on the distribution of selected books for religious, moral, and political reasons. The Media Commission banned 41 books during the year for violating public norms and values such as by including sexual content , disrespecting religion, or insulting the king.
Government prosecutors relied on privately initiated libel, slander, and defamation lawsuits to suppress criticism. Dozens of journalists, as well as members of parliament, faced libel and slander accusations filed by private citizens. On January 5, authorities charged comedian Omar Zorba with slander and defamation under the Cybercrimes Law for criticizing a song that aired on the official television station promoting the national census. The presenter who hosted the segment filed the suit.
On May 17, authorities arrested and detained ad-Dustour journalist Anas Sweileh for publishing an article on an abandoned building used by unemployed youth for repeated threats of suicide. The owner of the building filed a complaint. The court charged Sweileh with slander, defamation, and libel. The government used laws protecting national security to restrict criticism of government policies and officials. The government also issued gag orders restricting discussion on all forms of media after a fatal shooting by a lone gunman at an Intelligence Directorate office in Balqa on June 6 and a suicide bombing against a northeast border installation on June There were government restrictions on access to the internet.
The law gives authorities explicit power to block and censor websites. Authorities blocked a news website for one week in August for a licensing issue. According to journalists, security forces reportedly demanded websites remove some posted articles. The government threatened websites and journalists that criticized the government, while it actively supported those that reported favorably on the government.
The government monitored electronic correspondence and internet chat sites. Individuals believed they were unable to express their views fully or freely via the internet, including by personal e-mail. The government placed some limits on academic freedom. Some members of the academic community claimed there was a continuing intelligence presence in academic institutions, including monitoring academic conferences and lectures.
The government monitored political meetings, speech on university campuses, and sermons in mosques and churches. Academics reported the Intelligence Directorate must clear all university professors before their appointment and that the university administration must approve all research papers, forums, reading materials, movies, or seminars, which in turn clears potentially controversial material through the Intelligence Directorate.
Authorities edit commercial foreign films for sexual content before screening in commercial theaters. The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, but the government limited this right. Security forces generally permitted demonstrations and provided security at announced demonstrations. On February 21, security forces disrupted a demonstration in front of parliament organized by several political parties against the draft elections law.
Two female members of parliament participating in the protest accused security forces of using excessive force.
- Official Reports.
- Human Rights Reports.
- Apache Pass (Chiricahua Apache Series).
- Au Chevet de lAfrique des Elephants Fable (French Edition)!
- The Slender Man.
Authorities arrested and later released three protesters who refused to disperse and one journalist covering the event. Security officials stated that the protesters did not have approval for the demonstration. On June 22, authorities used force to disperse an eight-week-long protest in the central town of Dhiban. Eighteen unemployed youths demanded government assistance in finding employment. Gendarmerie used tear gas to disperse the protesters and removed a tent the protesters had erected.
In response, several protesters threw rocks, burned tires, fired in the air, and chanted slogans against the government. Authorities arrested more than 30 individuals for throwing stones at security forces but released the majority at dawn the next day. The government detained three individuals for attempted murder, resisting arrest, firing live ammunition in the air, and insulting the king. Authorities released two on bail on July 17 and the third on July Several local and international NGOs reported that hotels required them to present letters of approval from the governor prior to holding training, private meetings, or public conferences.
The government denied authorization for several events. Without letters of approval from the government and security services, hotels cancelled the events and trainings. In some cases NGOs relocated the events and training to private offices. Authorities denied permission to the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood association which is not legally registered as an association or NGO by the government and the Islamic Action Front legally registered as a political party to hold meetings and events on several occasions throughout the country. The constitution provides for the right of association, but the government limited this freedom.
The law authorizes the Ministry of Social Development to reject applications to register an organization or to permit any organization to receive foreign funding for any reason. It prohibits the use of associations for the benefit of any political organization. During the Ministry of Social Development introduced an application form for the approval process for associations that receive foreign funding.
Associations criticized the procedure, which incorporated additional ministries into the decision process and removed the deadline for review of funding requests. During the year NGOs reported that the government sometimes rejected requests for foreign funding, whereas such rejections were previously extremely rare. As of August 25, the ministry had received applications for foreign funding. The government approved applications, denied 10, and requested additional documentation for five applications. As of April the ministry registered 40 NGOs, dissolved 65, and warned Citizens widely suspected that the government infiltrated civil society organizations, political parties, and human rights organizations and their internal meetings.
The law provides for freedom of internal movement, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, although there were some restrictions. The government placed some restrictions on the free internal movement of registered Syrian refugees and Syrian asylum seekers. From March 9 to June 21, the government admitted 21, vulnerable Syrian asylum seekers from the northeastern border where tens of thousands of Syrians had begun to gather along the Jordanian border. There were no reliable estimates as to what percentage of the population at the border were asylum seekers: UNHCR and the government agreed that the population included genuine asylum seekers, those wanting to remain in Syria but seeking safety from aerial bombardment, traffickers, smugglers, and armed actors.
Prior to June 21, authorities cleared approximately 5, persons and transferred them from the fenced-off section. Since June 21, after a suicide attack at a border crossing killed seven members of the Jordanian border guard force, approximately 16, refugees remained in the secured section of the camp, where they have restricted or limited access to health, education, psychosocial, and other services available in the rest of the camp. Authorities have cleared approximately 1, persons and transferred them since June Authorities removed from the camp and returned them to Syria.
Similarly, since June 21, authorities have detained at Ruweishid transit center Syrian asylum seekers who were in the process of transfer to Azraq camp when the suicide attack occurred and who continued to receive basic humanitarian assistance. Authorities continued to subject Palestinian refugees from Syria held at Cyber City, a refugee camp in a closed government facility in Ramtha, to strict controls on their ability to leave the facility. Authorities allowed Palestinian residents of Cyber City to visit their relatives once per month, for two to three days at a time.
Authorities made some exceptions for the sick and elderly to allow twice-monthly visits. Unlike Syrian refugees at Cyber City, Palestinian refugees were not entitled to the bailout system of a Jordanian guarantor. Authorities did not officially inform Palestinian refugees of the reasons for their restricted movement. Former prisoners and the NCHR report alleged authorities withheld passports and imposed travel bans against citizens. As of November 9, the government, in cooperation with UNHCR, reported more than , registered Syrian refugees, and hundreds of thousands of additional nonrefugee Syrians in the country.
A memorandum of understanding between the government and UNHCR, renewed in , contains the definition of a refugee, confirms adherence to the principle of nonrefoulement, and allows recognized refugees a maximum stay of one year, during which period UNHCR must find a durable solution.
Important Documents
The time limit is renewable, and, generally, the government did not force refugees to return to their country of origin. As of authorities required all Syrians in the country to obtain an official residency card from the Ministry of Interior. Among the requirements to obtain the new residency card, all Syrians over the age of 12 must obtain an individual health certificate, which costs five JD seven dollars. The government continued to limit the number of Syrians seeking asylum in the country, as well as the points of entry they may use.
Generally, the government restricted entry of Syrians by air despite formal visa-free travel between the countries. Authorities did not allow Syrian asylum seekers, except severe medical cases, to enter along the more populated northwest border of the country. Instead, authorities allowed Syrian refugees seeking entry to cross only at one of the two informal borders crossings along the northeast desert border. The government limited the numbers of new arrivals on a daily basis between January and March. In March the government expedited the entry of 21, additional refugees at this informal border point between March and June but limited other refugees from crossing at these informal points.
Based on Jordanian estimates, international organizations reported that between 70, and , Syrians camped at the northeast desert Jordan-Syria border throughout the year. Several international organizations, including UNHCR, publicly called on the government to grant entry to the asylum seekers, especially the sick, elderly, children, and pregnant women, many of whom had waited in the border area for months in substandard shelters, with limited food and water, and most without medical care. From August 2 to 4, the government allowed international organizations to deliver a one-month food ration across the border and to continue to deliver water daily.
Other refugees, including many Iraqis and Yemenis, faced questioning at formal entry points, and authorities refused entry to many of them. The government forcibly returned Syrian refugees and Palestinian refugees from Syria, including women, children, war-injured, and persons with disabilities to Syria. International organizations reported that the government carried out a preliminary screening of refugees waiting at the northeastern border and prevented some Syrians seeking refuge from entering the country. International organizations also reported that the government forcibly returned to Syria some refugees residing in Azraq camp and Ruwaished transit center after authorities had admitted them for additional screening via the informal border crossings in the northeast.
The government also returned to Syria some Syrian refugees found working illegally, living in informal tented settlements, or not presenting refugee documentation when moving internally, while forcing others to return to formal refugee camps. The vulnerability of Palestinian refugees from Syria to deportation increased their risk of other abuses.
For those who entered the country irregularly without required documentation, or using Syrian identity documents , refoulement was a constant risk, and access to basic civil services--including renewal of identity documents, the registration of marriages, deaths, and births--was highly complex. The UNRWA reported that such activities could result in forced return to Syria, as well as detention and denaturalization. In February the government announced it would allow Syrian refugees access to the formal labor market and committed to providing 50, opportunities for Syrians during the year.
The government took several steps to expand and facilitate work permit issuance, including waiving fees and offering extended amnesties for those working illegally to regularize status. The government also revised work permit practices to allow Syrian workers in the agricultural sector to switch employers under the supervision of agricultural cooperatives, rather than requiring new work permits for each job transfer. There have been some delays in implementing the new procedures at Ministry of Labor offices in governorates outside Amman, uncertainty among the refugee population on how to apply for the work permits, or whether they would lose eligibility to UNHCR assistance if they entered the legal workplace.
Tens of thousands of Syrian refugees continued to work in the informal economy. A government-commissioned study report on migrant workers published in July estimated that 26 percent of Syrian refugees are economically active in the Jordan labor market. Very few non-Syrian refugees had access to the formal labor market and because of the difficulties and expenses involved in seeking work authorization, many worked in the unofficial labor market. Through September 18, the Ministry of Labor reported apprehending nearly 13, illegal foreign workers, 3, of whom were Syrians.
There were reports of administrative detentions and deportations of Syrian refugees for working without authorization, as well as reports of Syrian refugees forcibly moved from their areas of employment into one of the refugee camps for working without authorization. Longstanding Palestinian refugees with Jordanian identity documents were well integrated into the Jordanian workforce.
This was not the case, however, for the approximately , Palestinian refugees originally from Gaza, who were not eligible for Jordanian citizenship and were unable to work legally or access public services. Additionally, according to UNRWA, authorities deprived Palestinian refugees from Syria, the majority of whom were without Jordanian documents, of the opportunity to work. Access to Basic Services: Since , authorities have limited entry to Syrians seeking access to asylum along the northeastern border.
Although numbers fluctuated, international organizations reported, based on Jordanian estimates, that 70, to , Syrians camped at the northeast desert Jordan-Syria border throughout the year. An undetermined number were inside the country beyond an earthen berm in harsh desert conditions, and tens of thousands resided on the Syrian side of the border.
Prior to the border closure on June 21, these Syrians had adequate food and water provided by international organizations but health and hygiene conditions were inadequate as was access to medical aid and shelter. After the border closure on June 21, humanitarian organizations did not have access to the population. Water deliveries continued, but organizations only made one delivery of a day supply of food on August 2 to 4.
Authorities did not permit the stranded population to enter Jordan or register as refugees. Authorities permitted some international organizations to visit or assess the situation of these refugees, although not regularly, and very rarely after June The government excluded Palestinian refugees from Gaza who entered the country following the war from services otherwise available to Palestinian refugees, such as access to public assistance or public medical services.
Since , authorities have charged Syrian refugees for health care at the same rates as uninsured Jordanians, who pay a nominal fee for most basic health services. The government continued to provide free primary and secondary education to Syrian refugee children, and the minister of education announced that all school-age Syrian refugees should have access to education by the end of the year. Non-Syrian refugees must pay to attend government schools. Public schools, particularly in the north of the country, were overcrowded and operated on a double-shift schedule to accommodate the high number of students.
- VITTORIOS WOMAN (Vittorio Series Book 1).
- U.S. Department of State!
- Human rights in Jordan.
- Gender im Musikunterricht (German Edition).
- Human Rights Reports.
- TRIBE ARPEGGIOS!
- Guide to a Healthy Cat.
The government doubled the number of double-shift schools to allow an additional 50, Syrian refugee students access to formal education on top of the , enrolled last year. For those not eligible to access formal education, because they have been out of school for three years or more, the Ministry of Education is developing a catch-up program to reach another 25, students between the ages of nine and As of November preliminary Ministry of Education enrollment data indicated authorities had enrolled , Syrian refugees in schools whereas authorities registered approximately 1, Syrian schoolchildren for the catch-up classes.
Children over the age of 12 who are not eligible to enroll in formal education could participate in a Ministry of Education-run nonformal education dropout program. These three initiatives extend educational opportunities to nearly all school-aged Syrian refugees. Refugees had equal access to justice regardless of their legal status, but did not always exercise this right. The government also provided temporary protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees.
The government tolerated the prolonged stay of many Iraqis and other refugees beyond the expiration of the visit permits under which they had entered the country. Only the father can transmit citizenship. Women do not have the legal right to transmit citizenship to their children. Children of female citizens married to noncitizen husbands receive the nationality of the father and lose the right to attend public school or seek other government services if they do not hold legal residency, for which they must apply every year, and authorities do not assure continued residency.
The minister of interior stated that this ruling affected 88, families, including , children, in which the father lacked Jordanian citizenship. An estimated 55, of these fathers were of Palestinian origin. To access these services, children must obtain a special identification card through the Civil Status Bureau. To qualify, applicants must prove the maternal relationship, that the Jordanian mother has been resident in Jordan for five years, and that the children currently reside in Jordan.
In April the Civil Status Bureau began issuing identification cards to replace the initial certificates. By law the cabinet may approve citizenship for children of Jordanian mothers and foreign fathers, but this mechanism was not widely known, and approval rarely occurred. Once a husband has obtained citizenship, he may apply to transmit citizenship to his children.
Such an application could take years, and the government could deny the application. Activists did not identify any obstacles standing in the way of naturalization for men who fulfilled this residency requirement. Syrian refugees were sometimes unable to obtain birth certificates for children born in the country if they could not present an official marriage certificate or other nationality documents, which were sometimes lost or destroyed when they fled, or government authorities confiscated them when the refugees entered the country.
Refugee households headed by women faced difficulty in certifying nationality of offspring in absence of the father, which increased the risk of statelessness among this population. The law does not provide citizens the ability to choose their ultimate governing authority.
The king appoints and dismisses the prime minister, cabinet, and the upper house of parliament; dissolves parliament; and directs major public policy initiatives. Citizens have the ability to choose the lower house of parliament in generally credible periodic elections based on universal and equal suffrage and conducted by secret ballot. Citizens also elect most mayors and members of municipal councils. Elections for the lower house of parliament took place on September Elections for mayors and municipal councils took place in On September 20, the government held parliamentary elections administered by the Independent Electoral Commission.
The commission is an autonomous legal entity. It supervises and administers all phases of parliamentary elections and municipal elections, as well as other elections called for by the Council of Ministers. Local and international monitors noted the elections were generally credible and technically well administered. The commission instituted several changes to the election process: The elections took place under a new electoral law, passed by parliament and ratified by the king on March The new electoral law establishes an open-list proportional electoral system.
The election exhibited important technical advances in administration, but observers cited allegations of vote buying, ballot box tampering in one region, and other concerns. International and domestic observers of the election process expressed reservations about inadequacies in the electoral legal framework and stressed the need to allocate seats to districts proportionally based on population size.
Several Islamist parties participated in the September 20 parliamentary election, ending a six-year boycott. The Islamic Action Front lists won 15 seats, including 10 for party members, while other Islamist candidates and parties won at least 12 seats. The government held municipal elections in The Ministry of Municipal Affairs administered the elections, while the commission, which at the time did not have the authority to run municipal elections, played an advisory and monitoring role.
During the municipal elections, civil society election monitors reported several irregularities and incidents of violence. In , parliament passed a constitutional amendment to broaden the mandate of the commission to oversee municipal elections. Political Parties and Political Participation: Political parties must have founding members, all of whom must be citizens habitually resident in the country and not be a member of another non-Jordanian political organization, a judge, or affiliated with the security services.
There is no quota for women when founding a new political party. Parties may not be formed on the basis of religion, sect, race, gender, or origin. The law stipulates citizens may not be prosecuted for their political party affiliation. The Committee on Political Party Affairs oversees the activities of political parties. The law grants the committee the authority to approve or reject applications to establish or dissolve parties. It allows party founders to appeal a rejection to the judiciary within 60 days of the decision.
In March parliament approved the bylaw on government funding for political parties. The law also included additional financial support for parties that join coalitions of at least 12 parties; win at least one seat in parliament; and open additional branches beyond the minimum of a headquarter and four branch offices.
The law prohibits membership in unlicensed political parties. There were 50 registered political parties, but they were weak, generally had vague platforms, and were personality centered. The strongest and most organized political party was the Islamic Action Front. In December the king ratified the Decentralization Law that establishes two councils to participate in the budgeting process at the governorate level: The appointed council will be composed of technical experts from the central government.
The majority-elected council has a 15 percent quota for women 10 percent elected and 5 percent appointed. Participation of Women and Minorities: There are no laws limiting the participation of women and minorities in the political process, and they participated. The electoral law limits the parliamentary representation of certain minorities to designated quota seats.
Human rights activists, however, cited cultural bias against women as an impediment to women participating in political life on the same scale as men. There is an Media observers note that when covering controversial subjects, government-owned Jordan Radio and Television and Jordan News Agency reported only the government's position. According to a Center for Defending the Freedom of Journalists survey, 95 percent of journalists polled exercised self-censorship. The survey also reported that 70 percent of journalists thought the government used "soft containment", such as financial support, scholarships for relatives, and special invitations, to control the media at a medium to high degree.
Ninety-four percent said they avoid writing about or broadcasting military matters, and 83 percent said they avoid discussing religious topics. There were several cases in which the government prohibited journalists from reporting on high-profile court cases. For example, a State Security Court attorney general prohibited the press from reporting or commenting on the case of the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company expansion project without his personal approval, purportedly to allow the judicial authorities to work "calmly" on the case.
The clash between Jordanian media and the Lower House has been a chronic struggle for decades. The state of press freedom in Jordan is very fickle, at one point Jordan had one of the most vocal media in the Arab World, but a series of laws passed by Parliament greatly restricted press freedom. The Jordanian media has been very vocal expressing its opposition towards Parliament often leading to clashes. In October , the government amended the Penal Code and introduced a restrictive Press Law that effectively revokes the relative freedom of the press guaranteed by the Press Law and punishes any act that can be deemed critical of the Jordanian government.
Anyone who "slanders" the King or other members of the royal family can be sentenced to three years imprisonment. The introduction of these new laws has led to the detention and imprisonment of several journalists and leaders of peaceful associations. In May , two journalists involved in reprinting three of the 12 Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons were issued a two-month prison sentence. The two Jordanian editors responsible were sacked and pressured to issue a public apology. In the beginning of , King Abdullah II issued a royal decree forbidding jailing of journalists in Jordan, an act praised by human rights groups in Jordan and around the world.
According to Human Rights Watch , Jordanian authorities has used counterterrorism laws to prosecute activists, dissidents , journalists and Islamic preachers for speech offenses, the authorities depends largely on counterterrorism law that extended the definition of terrorism to include acts such as disturbing Jordan's relations with a foreign state. In June, Eyad Qunaibi, an Islamic preacher, was arrested after posting Facebook comments criticizing the liberal lifestyle of a segment of the Jordanian society.
Internet censorship in Jordan is relatively light, with filtering selectively applied to only a small number of sites. However, media laws and regulations encourage some measure of self-censorship in cyberspace, and citizens have reportedly been questioned and arrested for Web content they have authored. Internet censorship in Jordan is mainly focused on political issues that might be seen as a threat to national security due to the nation's close proximity to regional hotspots of Israel , Iraq, Lebanon , and the Palestinian territories.
In , however, the Press and Publications Department initiated a ban on Jordanian news websites which had not registered and been licensed by government agency. The order issued to Telecommunication Regulatory Commission contained a list of over websites to be blocked. The mandatory registration of websites was a part of amendments made to the Press and Publications Law in September The amendments included articles that would hold online news sites accountable for the comments left by their readers, prohibiting them from publishing comments that are deemed "irrelevant" or "unrelated" to the article.
The restriction caused several prominent sites to turn off their comments sections. Online news sites are required to archive all comments for at least six months. According to US Department of State's Human Rights Reports in legal and societal discrimination and harassment remained a problem for religious minorities, and religious converts. The Jordanian Constitution provides for the freedom to practice one's religion in accordance with the customs in the Kingdom, unless they violate public order or morality.
Human rights / Forced labour
Jordan's state religion is Islam. The Government bans conversion from Islam and efforts to proselytize Muslims. While proselytizing to Christians may not be banned, it is equally not favored and very hampered with bureaucratic red tape that renders it near impossible to legalize. The US State Department's International Religious Freedom Report of indicated that there were "no reports that the practice of any faith was prohibited" in Jordan.
In fact, Jordan has been highlighted as a model of interfaith dialogue. The study also concluded that in the last year there were "no reports of misuse or neglect" of the Kingdom's diverse religious sites, as well as no reports of "harassment, discrimination, or restrictions" to worshippers. Christians are well integrated into the Kingdom's political and economic landscapes. At least one Christian holds a ministerial post in every government, nine seats in the seat Parliament are reserved for Christians, and a similar number is appointed to the Upper House by the King.
They serve in the military, many have high positions in the army, and they have established good relations with the royal family. Jordan is a destination for women and men subjected to trafficking in persons , specifically conditions of forced labor and, to a lesser extent, forced prostitution. Jordan is possibly a source and transit country for women and men subjected to conditions of forced labor and forced commercial sexual exploitation. There are also reports of Jordanian child laborers experiencing conditions of forced labor.
Moroccan and Tunisian women are reportedly subjected to forced prostitution after migrating to Jordan to work in restaurants and night clubs. In addition, a few Chinese, Bangladeshi, Indian, Sri Lankan, and Vietnamese men and women encountered conditions indicative of forced labor in a few factories in the garment sector, including factories in Jordan's Qualifying Industrial Zones, such as the unlawful withholding of passports, delayed payment of wages, and, in a few cases, verbal and physical abuse.
NGOs and the media also report the forced labor of Egyptian workers in the construction, agriculture, and tourism sectors. Jordan's airports may be transit points for South- and Southeast-Asian men and women en route to employment opportunities in other Middle Eastern countries, where they experience labor exploitation after arrival. Some Jordanian children employed within the country as street vendors, carpenters, painters, mechanics, domestics, restaurant staff, or agricultural laborers may be exploited in situations of forced labor. In , an Anti-Human Trafficking Law was endorsed by the government that severely restricts human trafficking in the Kingdom and creates a committee to promote public awareness on the issue.
Jordan in cooperation with the Filipino Government worked out an agreement which gave a wide range of rights to domestic workers and access to legal protection, the first Arab country to do so. New regulations to regulate the working conditions of all domestic workers prescribe maximum working hours, rights to holiday and sick leave, and domestic workers' entitlement to regular contact with their own families. According to Amnesty International, despite addressing important issues, the regulations are loosely worded and open to interpretation in certain respects, fail to specify mechanisms for determining wages, or to resolve long-standing problems related to nonpayment of wages or low wages.
They also fail to provide effective safeguards against physical violence and sexual abuse by employers of domestic workers, the great majority of whom are women, and appear to place women at risk by requiring domestic workers to obtain their employer's permission before leaving their house. While there has been some improvement in combating human trafficking, Jordan remains a Tier 2 country countries whose governments do not fully comply with the U.
Trafficking Victims Protection Act's minimum standards, [27] but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards in the U. State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report because victim assistance, public awareness raising, punishment of traffickers, and active cooperation with source country embassies remain limited.
Torture is illegal in Jordan, however it remains widespread. According to a report by Amnesty International , intelligence agents in Jordan frequently use torture to extract confessions from terror suspects. Common tactics include, "beating, sleep deprivation, extended solitary confinement, and physical suspension.
Though Jordan has improved many procedures including a prison reform campaign in partnership with EU in this respect, agents at the General Intelligence Department remain largely immune to punishment. In May , the UN Committee against Torture reiterated long-standing concerns at Jordan's failure to investigate and prosecute allegations of torture, to provide adequate protection against torture, and to prosecute perpetrators in accordance with the seriousness of the crime.
It noted the "numerous, consistent and credible allegations of a widespread and routine practice of torture and ill-treatment" including in General Intelligence Department GID and Criminal Investigations Department detention. There have been several attempts to introduce harsh penalties on honor crimes, but, even with the strong backing of the royal family, these attempts have been rejected by Jordan's Lower House.
After a moratorium since there were eleven executions on 21 December , all detainees were men convicted of murder. State security, smuggling, arson resulting in death, and inciting armed riot cases are no longer capital crimes. In March , the Justice Minister announced that the crime of rape may cease to be a capital offense. In the future it is possible that the death penalty will be limited to cases of murder.
At the end of the government reports that 46 people were under sentence of death and six new death sentences were imposed during the year. Amnesty International reports nine new death sentences in Fifteen executions were carried on dawn of 4 March ; ten convicted with terrorism and the remaining 5 with murder and rape of minors. Those convicted with terrorism were part of a terror attack in Irbid , an attack on intelligence officers and the attack on Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar. Jordanian law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, but according to local and international human rights groups, the government does not always observe these prohibitions in practice.
Citizens and NGOs allege that the government continues to detain individuals, including political opposition members, for political reasons, and that governors continued to use administrative detentions for what appeared to be political reasons. In a few cases, the media and human rights organizations reported that authorities kept detainees in solitary confinement and denied them access to lawyers.
Human rights observers claimed that police make arrests before obtaining warrants and prosecutors fail to file charges or seek extensions in a timely manner. Prosecutors routinely request and are granted extensions that increase the period to file formal charges to as long as six months for a felony and two months for a misdemeanor.
Navigation menu
This practice can lengthen pretrial detention for protracted periods. Some detainees report not being allowed timely access to a lawyer, but authorities generally permit visits by family members. In facilities operated by the General Intelligence Directorate GID there are allegations of long periods of incommunicado detention, lengthy pretrial detention without being informed of charges, and not allowing defendants to meet with their lawyers or permitting meetings only shortly before trial.
Under the Crime Prevention Law, provincial governors may detain individuals suspected of planning to commit a crime or those who allegedly shelter thieves, habitually steal, or constitute a danger to the public, and in practice they used this provision widely.
Those accused are subject to imprisonment or house arrest as "administrative detention" without formal charges. A detention order may be for as long as one year, but governors can impose new orders to prolong detentions. International and national NGOs noted that governors routinely abused the law, imprisoning individuals when there was not enough evidence to convict them and prolonging detentions of prisoners whose sentences had expired. The law was also widely used to incarcerate women at risk of being honor crime victims.
Jordanian law provides for an independent judiciary; however, the judiciary's independence in practice may be compromised by nepotism and the influence of special interests. The law presumes that all defendants are innocent until proven guilty. Juries are not used. Most trials in civilian courts are open and procedurally sound, but the State Security Court SSC may close its proceedings to the public. In many cases defendants have no legal representation. Defendants can present witnesses on their behalf and question witnesses against them. Defense attorneys were generally granted access to government-held evidence relevant to their clients' cases.
Defendants can appeal verdicts and appeals are automatic for cases involving the death penalty. There are significant problems with the conditions in prisons, including poor legal services, under staffing, inadequate food and health care, poor sanitation standards, poor ventilation, extreme temperatures, inadequate access to potable water, ineffective pre-release and post-release programs, and insufficient basic and emergency medical care.
The construction of four new prisons reduced overcrowding somewhat. Freedom House rates women's rights in five categories, each scored from one lowest level of freedom to five highest level: Limited economic opportunity is one of the main reasons for poor scores in many of the above categories.