JORDAN,S LOWER HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT ENDORSES

UNCLAS AMMAN 000242 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ELA, G/TIP, AND DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KTIP JO SUBJECT: JORDAN,S LOWER HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT ENDORSES ANTI-TIP LAW; FULL APPROVAL EXPECTED IN EARLY FEBRUARY REF: A. 08 AMMAN 3388 ¶B. 08 AMMAN 3171 ¶C. 08 AMMAN 2822 AND PREVIOUS ¶1. (U) Jordan's Lower House of Parliament endorsed on January 25, the anti-Trafficking-in-Persons (TIP) Law (ref A). The law 1. (U) Jordan's Lower House of Parliament endorsed on January 25, the anti-Trafficking-in-Persons (TIP) Law (ref A). The law now moves to the Senate, where endorsement is expected before the session ends on February 5. The King will then sign the law, followed by publication in Jordan's Official Gazette. (Note: The King has not vetoed a piece of legislation in his ten year tenure. End Note.) The law would come into full effect 90 days after the King's endorsement, during which time the Legislative and Opinion Bureau will draft the regulations to govern the law's implementation. ¶2. (U) The law defines trafficking-in-persons, delineates sentences ranging up to 10 years with hard labor depending on specificities, and will replace the 1929 anti-slavery law. Once translated, Post will transmit septel an analysis of the law, along with its full text. Members of the inter-Ministerial drafting committee told Poloff on several occasions that the United Arab Emirate's anti-trafficking law was used as a basis and that aspects of Bahrain's law were also used. ¶3. (SBU) Comment: The Lower House's endorsement of the anti-TIP law follows a series of conversations on the need for such legislation between Ambassador and senior GOJ officials including the Prime Minister and the Chief of the Royal Court. In those conversations, the PM and Royal Court Chief asserted that fighting TIP is a high priority and that passage of a comprehensive anti-TIP Law is at the top of their short-term agenda. End Comment. Visit Amman's Classified Website at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman Beecroft