Jordan’s stance on racial discrimination to be discused in Switzerland

AMMAN — The government coordinator for human rights Basel Tarawneh on Saturday said he plans to meet with civil society organisations ahead of a meeting in Geneva next month on racial discrimination.

“I plan to meet with government organisations and civil society groups to discuss the issue of racial discrimination in Jordan to prepare the Kingdom’s report on this matter,” Tarawneh told The Jordan Times.

Tarawneh said the report will be presented during the meeting of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 23.

“I will write down on all the comments and notes during the meeting with the entities that deal with this topic and will present it in Geneva next month,” Tarawneh added.

It is “essential” to show the most recent steps the Kingdom adopted in this regard, Tarawneh added.

The human rights coordinator did not reveal the content of the report or comment about the recent situation in Jordan, stating that his priority is to “meet up with the concerned entities before issuing the findings”.

The CERD is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination by its state parties.

All state parties are obliged to submit regular reports to the committee on how the rights are being implemented. States must initially report one year after acceding to the convention and then every two years after. The committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the state party in the form of “concluding observations”.

The CERD responded to the Kingdom’s single document containing its combined 18th to 20th periodic reports in July 2016, which covered the efforts made by Jordan, its achievements and the steps it has taken to promote a culture that rejects any and all forms of racial discrimination.The kingdom’s document highlighted amendments made to the constitution that focused on the respect of the citizens’ dignity; no citizen may be subjected to any kind of physical or mental abuse; and Jordanians have the right to establish trade unions and political parties, the right to free and compulsory education and the right to work. Through those provisions, legal protection from abuse and exploitation is afforded to mothers, children, older persons and persons with disabilities, according to the document. 

The amendments are also intended to guarantee freedom of opinion, freedom of the press and of printing and publishing, media freedom, the freedom to participate in creative, literary, artistic, cultural and sporting activities, the document stated.

Jordan stressed in the document that all acts of violence or incitement against individuals or groups on account of their race, colour, descent or ethnic or racial origin constitute offences under Jordanian law. In the same way, Jordanian criminal law — the Criminal Code — is applicable to all individuals, both citizens and residents, in the same degree and without discrimination. 

The Criminal Code and other pieces of criminal legislation penalise all forms of discrimination and the propagation of ideas based on racial superiority or racial hatred, as well as all incitement to racial discrimination and all acts of violence or incitement committed against any race or group on the basis of colour or ethnicity.