JORDAN'S ASSOCIATIONS LAW AMENDMENTS FACE CRITICS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003117 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2018 TAGS: PGOV KDEM JO SUBJECT: JORDAN'S ASSOCIATIONS LAW AMENDMENTS FACE CRITICS IN CABINET AND PARLIAMENT REF: AMMAN 2988 AND PREVIOUS AMMAN 00003117 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Jordan's cabinet debated amendments to the controversial Law on Associations on November 12, with reform-minded cabinet officials having met for a prep session the day before. Our contacts in parliament remain either uninformed about the need for amendments or hostile to their content. Minister of Social Development Hala Lattouf is receiving similar negative feedback and worries that the road ahead may be difficult. European missions in Amman are supporting the amendment process, but smaller EU members have some reservations about how that will impact their access to the government. Opponents of reform in the cabinet and parliament are about to get their chance to shape the amendments. End Summary. Amendments Debated in Cabinet -------------- ¶2. (C) Reform-minded members of Jordan's cabinet met on November 11 to discuss amendments to the controversial Law on Associations in preparation for a November 12 debate by the full cabinet. PM Nader Dahabi, Minister of Political Development Kamal Nasser, Minister of Social Development Hala Lattouf, and Minister of Justice Ayman Odeh reviewed the prioritized list of amendments submitted by civil society on November 2. The English-language Jordan Times reported on the preparatory meeting, a rare move perhaps designed to signal to opponents in the cabinet and parliament that the public will be watching (reftel). As part of their preparation for a discussion on the amendments, the ministers compiled a list of civil society registration procedures in other countries, with input from Post on regulatory best practices in the United States. Officials from other countries' missions in Amman told us they had also been asked for input. The PM previously declared that the amendments would be given "priority status" once they were introduced in parliament, but it is unclear at this point when they may be introduced. MPs Skeptical or Uninformed -------------- ¶3. (C) Those MPs who are informed about the amendments appear generally skeptical. Public Freedoms Committee Chair Fahri Iskandar told POLOFF that civil society's demands are unrealistic and fail to take into account Jordan's legitimate security interests. He dismissed talk abolishing oversight of foreign funding, saying "the government must have notification." Legal Committee Chair Mubarak Abbadi similarly remarked that civil society had failed to come up with a reasonable alternative to the government's proposal in either round of the process, noting that NGOs' ongoing public criticism of the government and MPs on this issue was not helping their cause. Abbadi is one of several parliamentarians to whom we have talked who believes that the current law should be tested in the courts before amendments are introduced. Other MPs believe that economic legislation such as laws on tax reform and social security are more pressing and will push any amendments to the Law on Associations to a summer 2009 extraordinary session. ¶4. (C) Minister of Social Development Hala Lattouf told USAID staff that she was concerned about what will happen to the amendments once they eventually reach parliament. Lattouf has reached out to MPs in the last few weeks and has received uniformly negative feedback, with one deputy reportedly telling her, "If you send us amendments, you won't like the outcome." Seeing the unhelpful mood of parliamentarians, Lattouf is hedging her bets by working on a parallel track to create regulations to the existing law which would allow for some flexibility in its implementation. European Efforts -------------- ¶5. (C) As reported reftel, European embassies are continuing in their efforts to push a common position on the law. A meeting the week of November 3 between European aid agencies and Jordanian officials featured a special session on the Law on Associations. According to Thibaut Guillet, project coordinator for the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network and a participant in the talks, there was some disagreement among European aid missions about how hard to push the Jordanian government. France and the UK, whose aid missions are relatively large, are pressing for further engagement on the issue, while aid officials from smaller EU donors consider the issue too politically sensitive, and are AMMAN 00003117 002.2 OF 002 concerned that their access and ability to function will be compromised. Belgian DCM Jeroen Vergeylen told POLOFF that EU officials raised the law with FM Bashir during his November 11 trip to Brussels, but were "discouraged by his defensive response." Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) The November 12 cabinet debate was the first time that civil society's amendments were placed before a potentially hostile audience. Obtaining cabinet approval for the wish-list of amendments by Jordanian NGOs may not be easy with security-minded officials at the table. Press stories on the prep session for reform-minded ministers were likely intentionally released to put conservative ministers on notice that the public is watching. If the cabinet is a mole hill, the parliament is a mountain. While government support is usually enough to push any law through Jordan's legislature, this bill will face added scrutiny and skepticism from MPs who approved the associations law just four months ago. If the amendments are to overcome this difficult hurdle, civil society and its backers within the government will need to make significant inroads among MPs with influence on the issue. Beecroft