HRW urges gov’t to fulfil rights agenda

AMMAN — Jordan should build on the momentum of recent parliamentary elections by enacting human rights reforms, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday in a letter to Prime Minister Hani Mulki. 

HRW said the new government, which won Lower House confidence last Thursday, should “halt efforts to restrict independent groups, ensure media freedom, ensure protection for vulnerable refugees, and end discrimination against women”.

“Jordan’s peaceful election of a new Parliament should be accompanied by important human rights reforms that protect the ability of citizens to express their views and advocate change,” a statement from the watchdog quoted Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at HRW, as saying. 

“Moves to restrict the activities of independent groups and limit the ability of the news media to do their job overshadow the progress Jordan has made on issues such as expanding access to education for Syrian refugee children,” Whitson added.

Citing the Royal Designation Letter to Mulki, HRW said His Majesty King Abdullah directed the new government to address issues that include the need to improve the economy, increase cooperation with the judiciary and strengthen the rule of law. 

The directives also call on the new Cabinet to fulfil commitments under the Comprehensive National Plan for Human Rights 2016-2025 issued in March and to create partnerships with non-governmental organisations.

The watchdog said the government should “scrap proposed far-reaching changes to the country’s 2008 associations law that would severely hamper the ability of nongovernmental organisations to form and operate”. 

The proposed amendments, it argued, would place “onerous restrictions” on the formation of independent groups, enabling the government to dissolve groups on “vague grounds” or bar them from accepting foreign funding without government authorisation. 

The changes also “appear to violate international human rights law protections on the right to free association”, HRW said.

The watchdog also warned against restrictions on media freedom, stressing that “Jordan has increasingly relied on media gag orders during 2016 to prevent public reporting on sensitive issues”. 

In the letter to the premier, the organisation also expressed concern about “the increasing obstacles since August 2015 facing Palestinians from the Gaza Strip seeking to transit through Jordan to reach third countries for employment, medical care, educational opportunities or family unification”.

Moreover, it urged work to end discrimination against women, proposing law amendments that would allow Jordanian women to pass their nationality to their children. 

HRW commended Jordan’s efforts to improve the livelihoods of Syrian refugees by granting new legal work opportunities. 

It also lauded the steps taken to improve access to education for Syrian refugees, such as relaxing documentation requirements, doubling the number of schools operating “double shifts” to create spaces for up to 50,000 more Syrian students, and establishing a “catch-up” programme to reach another 25,000 children between the ages of 8 and 12, who have been out of school for three or more years.

“Despite these efforts, challenges remain,” the organisation said. 

“About 70,000 Syrians are trapped at remote locations along an earthen mound or berm along Jordan’s northeastern border with Syria,” it added. 

Jordan sealed its border after a June suicide car bomb attack on an outpost that served refugees killed seven personnel. 

After a five-month suspension, aid movement across the border resumed at a new distribution point on November 22, “but Jordan should ensure that this aid reaches the most vulnerable refugees stranded along the border”, HRW said. 

“But, more fundamentally, Jordan should respect the principle of nonrefoulement and not expose asylum seekers to the threat of serious harm by rejecting them at its border,” the watchdog said.

“Jordan’s new government has a green light to pursue necessary reforms over the coming years, and it should not let this excellent opportunity go to waste,” Whitson added.