The Club of Madrid, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network, Human Rights Watch and the

Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (a joint programme of the International

Federation for Human Rights - FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture - OMCT) consider that

the amendments to the Societies Law passed by Jordan’s Upper House of Parliament on July 15, 2009

threaten to unduly restrict freedom of association in Jordan.

Our organizations welcome the government’s introduction of amendments in 2009 to the Societies Law

passed in 2008 following criticism both Jordanian and international civil society groups voiced regarding

the law’s compliance with Jordan’s international obligations. The 2009 amendments, however, do not fully

take those criticisms into account. Under the 2009 version of the Societies Law, the executive branch

would continue to wield excessive powers over the registration and activities by associations.

The registration of an association would continue to depend on the authorities' approval, rather than a

mere notification procedure. Grounds to deny approval are not spelled out, potentially rendering

government decisions immune to judicial appeals, if such decisions in fact conformed with the nominal

requirements of the law on paper. Additionally, the authorities would retain wide powers over an

association’s activities: they could delegate a representative to attend the association’s General Assembly

meetings; an association would have to submit in advance to the authorities its annual plan of activities;

certain decisions concerning the association’s by-laws and personnel would have to be approved by the

authorities; associations could receive foreign funds only following prior approval by the authorities.

On July 12, 2009, members of the Lower House of Parliament rejected a minor improvement in the law

that the government had introduced in the 2009 amendments. Under the rejected amendment, the

Ministry of Social Development responsible for overseeing associations would have assumed responsibility

for approving foreign grants. But the Lower House decided to retain these powers in the Council of

Ministers.

Our organizations have repeatedly voiced concern over the 2008 law and the 2009 draft amendments. On

June 14, 2009, the National Center for Human Rights (NCHR) issued a statement reiterating the need to

500 Jordanian civil society representatives during a national campaign carried out from March to June

“Jordan’s Government and parliamentarians have repeatedly failed to acknowledge their obligations under

international law. They have not explained why the restrictions on civil society are necessary in a

democratic society”.

The 2009 version of the Societies Law, if promulgated into law by King Abdullah, would maintain

restrictions of a nature that violates Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

which Jordan ratified on March 23, 1976, as well as contravenes the Declaration on Human Rights

Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998.

Our organizations call upon King Abdullah II to reject the text in its current form and to produce a revised

version of the Law of Societies taking into consideration the comments civil society representatives have

strongly urge Jordan to respect and implement its human rights commitments regarding freedom of

association, and to condition any strengthening of relations between the EU and Jordan on concrete

commitments to protect freedom of association.

Club of Madrid +34 911 548 230

EMHRN: +45 32 64 17 16 / +20 2 010 107 7207

HRW: +1 646 322 8355

FIDH: + 33 1 43 55 25 18

OMCT: + 41 22 809 49 39

Repression of demonstrations, trade union members arrested, NGOs under surveillance: for years these facts have been related to situations of economic and social imbalance and inequity. The rise in social discontent linked to the world economic crisis has increased the repression recorded in recent years. The Annual Report 2009 of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders shows that in inverse proportion to the fall of the stock exchanges, the inflation of freedom-killing practices and laws relating to the control of the social body was one of the significant characteristics of the problems encountered by human rights defenders in 2008.

Roberto Saviano, author of the foreword, warns: « “crises” in 2008 have already resulted in an increase in social protest movements. In Cambodia, Cameroon, South Korea, Tunisia, Colombia, Zimbabwe and elsewhere, women and men have poured onto the streets to demand respect for their social and economic rights, and the peaceful leaders of these demonstrations are too often the targets of repression. Is this a taste of what is in store for us in the framework of the current crisis and the social movements to which it will legitimatelylead? ».For Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH President, « the social tension that has spread to all continents has had, all over the world, consequences in terms of freedoms of assembly, association and expression, which largely go beyond the mere framework of the defence oflabour or social rights ».This report celebrates the steadfast protest of all human rights defenders: « The numerous international human rights instruments and their monitoring mechanisms are not a sufficient guarantee against violations. If the public opinion does not remain vigilant, their implementation will remain a dead letter. More than ever, in these times of crises, human rights defenders, through their rigorous investigations, their uncompromised actions and their unselfish commitment constitute the last rampart against arbitrariness. Repressive States have understood it well, and increasingly target those defenders of freedom », concludes Eric Sottas, OMCT Secretary General.

http://www.omct.org/pdf/Observatory/2009/obs_annual_report_2009_eng.pdf

http://www.fidh.org/L-Obstination-du-temoignage-rapport-2009-defenseurs-droits-humains