Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ABUDHABI1187
2008-10-20 12:18:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Cable title:  

Assistant Secretary Kramer, Minister of Justice Review NGO

Tags:  PHUM PREL KMPI JO 
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VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAD #1187 2941218
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201218Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1608
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 0855
UNCLAS ABU DHABI 001187 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL KMPI JO
SUBJECT: Assistant Secretary Kramer, Minister of Justice Review NGO
Law

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 001187

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL KMPI JO
SUBJECT: Assistant Secretary Kramer, Minister of Justice Review NGO
Law


1. (SBU) Summary: A/S Kramer met on the margins of the BMENA Forum
for the Future in Abu Dhabi with Jordanian Minister of Justice Ayman
Odeh and Jordanian Ambassador to UAE. The Minister solicited and
responded to DRL's concerns about the new Jordanian NGO law, and
suggested possible ways to alleviate those concerns to ensure that
the law would not block NGO funding from the United States, EU, and
other friendly sources, while satisfying Jordanian concerns about
being able to monitor funds from less welcome donors. End Summary.


2. (SBU) A/S Kramer advised the Minister that DRL, NEA, and S/P are
consulting with the GOJ to set dates for a possible November visit
to Amman to start dialogue on human rights and democracy assistance
under the U.S.-Jordan Memorandum of Understanding, and he noted the
USG has some concerns about three aspects of the law in its current
version: Restrictions on foreign funding; excessive government
discretion over the regulation, oversight, and possible dissolution
of civil society organizations; and the requirement to disclose
organization members' names and board members' names. He urged that
civil society in Jordan have a significant role in putting forth
proposed amendments to the law. (Note: The Minister said he hopes
any amendments to the law will be in place by the first half of
2009, and said he intends to discuss the timing with the Prime
Minister. End note.)


3. (SBU) The Minister defended the new law as better by far than the
old one, but admitted the new version may not be up to some people's
expectations. He said that with the large refugee presence in Jordan
and unwelcome overtures from some other countries in the region,
Jordan cannot open the way for foreign funding without any
restrictions. He clarified that domestic funding will have to be
reported to the government but would not be subject to prior
government approval. According to the Minister, the current law
requires foreign funding proposals to be submitted for advance
approval to the Council of Ministers; if the CoM does not reply
within 30 days, the request is considered approved, whereas under
the previous law, there was no such time limit. The Minister said he
would prefer for the amended law to establish general CoM guidelines
for such requests and place the decision with the relevant ministry,
to streamline the approval process; or as a second choice, for the

CoM to make the decision subject to established guidelines. He
suggested it might be possible to write the guidelines such that
funding from the USG, EU, and a few other friendly donors would be
subject to automatic acceptance upon submission to the relevant
ministry or CoM. He added that the financial reporting requirement
for donors thus identified could be set up as an annual report
declaring funds received but not detailing every transaction.


4. (SBU) A/S Kramer commented that such provisions could be helpful
in softening the impact of the law. He agreed that annual financial
reports would be less of a burden for donors than providing initial
notification to the GOJ. When he asked about the government's
discretion to dissolve civil society organizations, the Minister
countered that the new law actually makes dissolution more difficult
than did the previous law. He said there is no possibility the
dissolution authority could be excised from the new law, but that
the power would be invoked only in very specific cases, such as an
organization's failure to elect a board of directors. He also
stated that dissolution of an NGO would be a CoM rather than a
ministerial decision, and that it could be challenged in court. He
and the Jordanian Ambassador asserted that a civil society group
would only be dissolved for "organizational reasons" and only to
protect the assets under that group's control.


5. (SBU) A/S Kramer pointed out that the requirement to provide the
government with the names of organization members and board members
would have a chilling effect if people were concerned about how the
government might use the information, so it would be preferable for
groups to keep their own membership records without submitting them
to the government. The Minister responded, "We will see what we can
do on that." A/S Kramer reiterated that the recently signed
U.S.-Jordan MOU is a meaningful step forward and a symbol of strong
U.S.-Jordan relations, and that the USG was expressing concern about
the NGO law in the context of that relationship.


6. (SBU) Comment: The Minister made it clear that the law has some
redlines that cannot be omitted, but seemed willing to think
creatively about how to keep funding channels open, especially in
the context of new support coming to Jordan under the MOU. DRL and
NEA have closely followed Embassy Amman's reporting on advocacy for
revising the NGO law. We remain concerned that the GOJ, as the
Minister stated, intends to allow the unamended law to come into
effect, and will seek to issue only modified regulations that will
temper but not fully address the concerns we have repeatedly pointed
out. The GOJ should expect that this will figure into a large part
of our interaction under the new Human Rights dialogue, if the law
has not been amended in advance. The Department will consult with
civil society organizations to get further reactions and input. End
comment.

Olson