Evaluation of the partnership for democracy in respect of the Parliament of Jordan
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Text
adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of
the Assembly, on 25 November 2022 (see Doc. 15649, report of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy,
rapporteur: Mr George Loucaides).
1. On 26 January 2016, the Parliamentary
Assembly, in adopting
Resolution
2086 (2016) “Request for partner for democracy status
with the Parliamentary Assembly submitted by the Parliament of Jordan”,
granted the Jordanian Parliament partner for democracy status. After
the parliaments of Morocco, Palestine and Kyrgyzstan, the Parliament
of Jordan became the fourth parliament to receive this status, introduced
by the Assembly in 2009 to develop institutional co-operation with
the parliaments of States neighbouring the Council of Europe.
2. When making its official request, the Parliament of Jordan
declared that it shared the same values as those upheld by the Council
of Europe and undertook substantial political commitments in accordance
with Rule 64.2 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly. These
commitments are set out in paragraph 3 of
Resolution 2086 (2016).
3. The Assembly stated in paragraph 9 of the aforementioned resolution
that a number of measures undertaken by the authorities were essential
for strengthening democracy, the rule of law and respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms. It called on the Parliament of
Jordan to continue and to deepen the constitutional, institutional,
political and legal reforms in a number of specific areas.
4. On 10 October 2017, the Assembly adopted
Resolution 2183 (2017) “Evaluation
of the partnership for democracy in respect of the Parliament of
Jordan”, where it noted that even though reforms were advancing slower
than planned, some vital ones had been carried out. Considering
that Jordan was moving in the right direction, the Assembly resolved
to expand its support as part of a progressive and trusting approach
leading to greater democracy and greater rights, while following
very closely the implementation of reforms.
5. Five years later, the Assembly welcomes the efforts of the
Jordanian Parliament in striving to comply with the political commitments
of a partner for democracy despite the internal and external challenges
the country is facing. Sitting at the centre of a volatile region,
Jordan continues to play a crucial role in regional stability and
peace, including by hosting millions of refugees.
6. As the Assembly has already stressed, Jordan is making substantial
efforts to accommodate the needs of this population, which constitutes
a permanent challenge. The Assembly once more warmly congratulates Jordan
on its efforts. It again urges the international community to increase
its support for the Jordanian authorities, either directly or through
the international organisations operating on the ground.
7. The Assembly recalls that progress in moving reforms forward
is the prime aim of the partnership for democracy and constitutes
the benchmark for assessing its effectiveness. As regards the political commitments
entered into by the Parliament of Jordan upon requesting partner
for democracy status, and in the light of
Resolution 2183 (2017), the Assembly:
7.1 welcomes the holding of parliamentary
elections on 10 November 2020 within their constitutional deadline,
despite an adverse pandemic situation. While the low turnout was
disappointing and it is regrettable that less than 10% of the elected
representatives come from political parties, the others being affiliated
to tribal or financial forces, the mere fact that, despite the pandemic,
the elections were organised and conducted according to schedule
and without any major problems proves that the democratic institutions
and processes in Jordan have reached a certain level of resilience
and maturity;
7.2 welcomes the adoption of the new electoral law and the
new law on political parties, which are aimed at encouraging the
formation of political parties, rising above tribal allegiances,
and at guaranteeing a greater role for young people and women in
political life;
7.3 regrets that Article 6.1 of the constitution, which prohibits
discrimination, still does not enumerate “gender” or “sex” in the
list of grounds for discrimination. However, it welcomes the newly
introduced reference to women in the title of the constitution’s
relevant chapter as well as the new Article 6.6 whereby the State
shall guarantee the empowerment of women and undertakes to support
them to play an active role in building society in a way that guarantees
equal opportunities on the basis of justice and equity and protects
them from all forms of violence and discrimination. All this may
be considered as a first step to raising public awareness of gender
equality and setting the basis for further changes in the constitution.
The Assembly calls on the Jordanian Parliament to take a clear stand
against gender-based discrimination and initiate a public debate
on the necessary reforms;
7.4 regrets that Article 340 of the Criminal Code, which allows
perpetrators to receive lenient sentences for crimes committed in
response to adultery, has still not been repealed. It also regrets
that perpetrators of crimes “against women” continue to receive
mitigated sentences if the victim’s family does not support prosecutions
of the male family members. It calls on the Jordanian authorities
to take resolute action against violence against women in co-operation
with civil society and women’s organisations;
7.5 welcomes the efforts made to reduce the number of cases
of administrative detention and the memorandum submitted by 82 members
of the Jordanian Parliament requesting the abolition of administrative
detention. It stresses that the purely preventive detention of persons
suspected of intending to commit a crime is inconsistent with Council
of Europe standards and should be abolished;
7.6 regrets the fact that, while no executions have been carried
out since 2017, courts continue to hand down death sentences. It
calls on the Jordanian Parliament to intervene to introduce a de jure moratorium on executions
pending the abolition of the death penalty, in line with the expectations indicated
by the Assembly upon granting partner for democracy status. It also
calls on the Jordanian Parliament to take the lead in explaining
to the public the importance of abolishing the death penalty;
7.7 welcomes the adoption of a new law for children’s rights
which codifies a host of protection measures for children as well
as the repeal of the requirement for mothers to have lived for five
years in Jordan for their children born to non-Jordanian fathers
to qualify for a number of benefits, including health and education.
8. The Assembly calls on the Jordanian Parliament to speed up
the implementation of its general commitment to promote the core
values of the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms,
in particular by guaranteeing and promoting freedom of expression,
media independence and plurality, and freedom of association and
peaceful assembly in line with international standards. In this
context, it invites the Parliament of Jordan to co-operate more
closely with civil society.
9. The Assembly welcomes the ratification by Jordan of the Convention
on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (ETS No. 127).
It invites the Jordanian authorities to consider the advisability
of signing and ratifying other Council of Europe conventions or
partial agreements, in particular the Convention on Action against
Trafficking in Human Beings (CETS No. 197), the Convention on the
Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse
(CETS No. 201) and the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence
against Women and Domestic Violence (CETS No. 210).
10. When granting partner for democracy status to the Jordanian
Parliament, the Assembly wished to foster closer relations and co-operation
between Jordan and the Council of Europe. The Assembly recalls that
the expertise of Council of Europe bodies (the Parliamentary Assembly,
the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission)
and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council
of Europe) is at the disposal of the Jordanian authorities to help
with strengthening human rights, the rule of law and democracy in
Jordan.
11. The Assembly considers that the implementation of the political
commitments entered into by the Parliament of Jordan should be the
collective responsibility of its two chambers and shared between
them. Consequently, as from the adoption of this Resolution, the
Assembly invites the Parliament of Jordan to appoint, from both
the house of representatives and the senate, a partner for democracy
delegation consisting of three representatives and three substitutes,
to be composed in accordance with Rule 64.4 of the Assembly’s Rules
of Procedure.
12. The Assembly resolves to continue to review the implementation
of political reforms in Jordan and to offer its assistance to the
Jordanian Parliament, and to make a new assessment of the partnership
when appropriate.
