JORDANIAN CIVIL SOCIETY SCRAMBLES TO PRIORITIZE

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 002988

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/30/2018
TAGS: PGOV KDEM JO
SUBJECT: JORDANIAN CIVIL SOCIETY SCRAMBLES TO PRIORITIZE
ASSOCIATIONS LAW SUGGESTIONS

REF: A. AMMAN 2716

B. AMMAN 2977

C. AMMAN 2701

Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Minister of Social Development Hala Lattouf met with
civil society leaders on October 29, returning their
suggested amendments to the Law on Associations and asking
once again for a prioritized list (Refs A and B). NGO leaders
were given until November 2 to resubmit their changes to
Lattouf's office. Ruffled by the abrupt nature of the
request and the short response time, civil society leaders
told us they pushed back, telling Lattouf that they expected
the government to implement all of their suggestions. They
were talked down by Lattouf, who held firm to the
government's timeline and demands.


2. (C) Lawyer and USAID contractor Sa'ed Karajah was tasked
by the group with arranging the list and suggesting a plan of
action. He told USAID staff on October 30 that the initial
eight suggestions (summarized in Ref C) were being whittled
down to five - registration, penalties, funding, oversight,
and corporate governance. The priority order of these
suggestions is still under negotiation. Note: The GOJ has
only requested a prioritized list - the paring down of the
amendments was at civil society's initiative. End Note.


3. (C) Civil society reaction to the meeting with Lattouf
was mixed. Asem Rababa, head of the Adaleh Center for Human
Rights, told us that the government was "playing a game" for
the benefit of the international community and was not
ultimately serious about amending the law. Eva Abu Hawaleh
of the Mizan Law Group for Human Rights was more optimistic
about the chances for meaningful reform, stating that the USG
is playing a necessary role behind the scenes in supporting
civil society's efforts.


4. (C) Belgian DCM Jeroen Vergeylen told Poloff October 29
that the Associations Law is now a top priority for EU
diplomats in Amman. Members of the European Commission will
participate in a ministerial level dialogue on aid to Jordan
in early November. As part of the preparations for that
meeting, Vergeylen said that EU embassies in Amman are
negotiating the language of a memo that will chastise the GOJ
for the Law on Associations and demand movement on the
amendment process. Vergeylen promised to send Embassy Amman
a copy when the text is finalized and agreed that coordinated
effort on the part of all diplomatic missions was needed so
the amendment process remains a priority for the Dahabi
government.
Beecroft