UPDATE ON JORDANIAN REFORM INITIATIVES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002255

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/24/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL KMCC SOCI JO
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON JORDANIAN REFORM INITIATIVES

REF: A. 06 AMMAN 5945

B. AMMAN 1703

C. AMMAN 1410

D. AMMAN 542

E. 06 AMMAN 7737

F. AMMAN 1959

G. AMMAN 1567

H. AMMAN 1707 (NOTAL)

I. AMMAN 1962

AMMAN 00002255 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Ambassador David Hale, Reasons 1.4 (B) & (D)


1. (C) Summary: Jordan has actively advanced the political
and social reform agendas laid out at the July 2006 national
unity conference (ref A). Since that time Parliament passed
reform bills dealing with municipal government, political
parties, press and publications, access to government
information, and financial disclosure for public officials.
In addition, Jordan opened its first government-run shelter
for women, and continued a USAID-supported court records
automation project in furtherance of judicial reform. End
summary.

National Elections
--------------


2. (SBU) 2007 is the year of elections in Jordan, with
municipal elections to be held at the end of July, and
national parliamentary elections slated to occur by November.
NDI is working to strengthen the ability of political forces
to articulate, organize and compete on clear, issue-based
political platforms. More than 50 Jordanians have already
announced their candidacies for Parliament in the press, and
many have begun campaigning.

Municipal Elections
--------------


3. (SBU) The GOJ announced that municipal elections will be
held July 31. Note: This is a slight delay from the
originally planned date of July 17 (ref B),and is due to the
GoJ's desire to provide more time for voter registration
efforts. END NOTE. The announcement follows the
Parliament's passage in March of a reformed municipal
government law, which included a 20 per cent quota for women.
The Ministry of Municipalities also announced the new
allocation of council seats for each town. Twenty to
twenty-five percent of seats on each council are reserved for
women. IRI is focusing its assistance on polling, candidate
cultivation and training, with an emphasis on women, in
anticipation of these elections.

Political Parties
--------------


4. (C) The Chamber of Deputies endorsed the government's
bill to reform the political parties law in April. The bill
will simplify registration procedures for new parties, and
provide a mechanism for some government funding of parties in
the future (ref C). Comment: The King's objective is to
encourage moderates to unite eventually behind one or two
national parties better positioned to compete against the
Islamists. End Comment. The law increases from 50 to 250 the
minimum membership of an organization seeking recognition as
a party, simplifies some registration procedures, and
provides a mechanism for some government funding of parties
in the future if a special regulation is enacted.

Press and Publications
--------------


5. (SBU) The new press and publications law passed in April
reduces the scope of punishable offenses compared to the
earlier law and eliminates imprisonment of journalists (ref
C). While some activists worry the GOJ could still use other
statutes if it wanted to imprison journalists, the government
has not in fact sought to imprison anyone for media-related
offenses in recent years.

Protecting Women
--------------


6. (U) Queen Rania inaugurated a family reconciliation
center/shelter for abused women in Amman, to be run by the
Ministry of Social Development, in January 2007 (Ref D). In
addition to counseling services, the shelter provides
emergency housing for abused women and their young children.
The shelter is the first government-run facility of its kind
and was supported, in part, by USAID funds. It is the only
facility in Jordan that provides both shelter and counseling
for domestic violence victims.


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Independent Judiciary
--------------


7. (SBU) The Jordanian judiciary, with USAID assistance, has
increased court record automation to 60 per cent of its
caseload, increasing independence and transparency of the
judiciary. USAID expects that a computerized system will be
used in all cases in regular courts by the end of 2008.

Other reform laws
--------------


8. (SBU) The GOJ passed a financial disclosure law in
September 2006 requiring government officials to submit
detailed financial information that can be referenced in case
of allegations of corruption or malfeasance (Ref E). The
parliament also passed key amendments to the trademarks and
patents law in (ref C) and an anti-money laundering law (ref
F) in April 2007. In April 2007, an access to information
law was passed (ref G),providing Jordanian citizens with the
right to seek several categories of information from
government entities for the first time.


9. (C) COMMENT: Jordan is still capable of the occasional
misstep that detracts from its otherwise positive reputation
on reform, such as the confiscation of Al Jazeera's Prince
Hassan interview tapes (ref H),the brief suppression of a
controversial edition of the news weekly Al Majd, and the
detention of former MP Ahmed Al Abbadi for insulting the
state (ref I). But these examples strike Post as the
outliers. The GOJ has achieved considerable progress toward
the ambitious goals announced at the July, 2007 conference,
despite a mulish anti-reform majority in parliament. The new
parliament to be elected later this year may prove more
friendly to reform. END COMMENT.

Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/
Hale