JORDAN: LAW OF ASSOCIATIONS IMPLEMENTATION MOVING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002623 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/02/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM JO SUBJECT: JORDAN: LAW OF ASSOCIATIONS IMPLEMENTATION MOVING FORWARD REF: A. AMMAN 2195 ¶B. AMMAN 1730 ¶C. AMMAN 1724 ¶D. AMMAN 1626 ¶E. AMMAN 1576 ¶F. AMMAN 1065 ¶G. AMMAN 942 ¶H. AMMAN 450 ¶I. AMMAN 343 ¶J. 08 AMMAN 3386 ¶K. 08 AMMAN 3219 ¶L. 08 AMMAN 3117 ¶M. 08 AMMAN 2988 ¶N. 08 AMMAN 2977 ¶O. 08 AMMAN 2716 ¶P. 08 AMMAN 2702 ¶Q. 08 AMMAN 2701 ¶R. 08 AMMAN 2685 ¶S. 08 AMMAN 2633 ¶T. 08 AMMAN 2359 ¶U. 08 AMMAN 2300 ¶V. 08 AMMAN 2026 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Lawrence C. Mandel for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The amendments to the law on associations became effective on September 17 upon publication in the official gazette. The Ministry of Social Development (MOSD) and the newly formed registrar's office took immediate steps to start executing the amendments despite the lack of approved implementing regulations. The status of the implementing regulations intended to "smooth out" implementation is currently unclear. The Minister of Social Development told media on November 21 that draft regulations are with the Prime Minister's office but her staff told Poloffs on November 25 that consultations are still underway with civil society. Civil society report no significant changes in their operating environment from prior to the adoption of the new law, despite implementation of the amendments. End Summary. New Provisions Already Under Implementation -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The MOSD and the newly formed registrar's office have pushed forward to operationalize the controversial 2008 and 2009 amendments to the Law on Associations despite the continued lack of corresponding implementing regulations (see below). In fact, MOSD staff played down the importance of implementing regulations to Poloffs, calling the amendments "frank" and stating there is no ambiguity about the law's intent. For instance, staff stated that the law very clearly dictates that all foreign funding to all non-profit organizations registered in Jordan requires Cabinet approval and that they must be properly registered. As such, MOSD staff felt there is no need to delay implementation but did admit that regulations, once approved, will "better guide" and "smooth out" implementation. ¶3. (C) Civil society organizations have also confirmed that the amendments are being implemented without final passage of the regulations. Based on MOSD and civil society input, the following is the current state of play regarding the major amendments to the Law of Associations: -- Registrar's Office: The 2009 amendments transferred most of the oversight authority over NGOs from the MOSD to a new registrar's office. The registrar's advisory board is headed by the Minister of Social Development, or her designate, and comprised of a representative from seven other government bodies and four civil society organizations. Civil society representatives must be approved by the Prime Minister. To date, the civil society representatives have not yet been selected. The advisory board, however, has met on three occasions and are making active decisions with the eight government officials who represent a "quorum." MOSD staff thought that the civil society representatives would be selected and seated by the end of the year. -- Registration: The deadline for non-profit companies to register and "rectify" their status (i.e. change registration from current host to that of the registrar) was postponed by the registrar's office for one year until December 14, 2010. In the meantime, the MOSD is conducting a country-wide field survey of organizations. Seventy associations have already rectified their status or are newly registered. MOSD plans to complete the survey in the first quarter 2010. -- Foreign Funding: Any non-profit organization registered in Jordan are currently required to obtain Cabinet approval for any foreign funding source. MOSD reports that, to date, all AMMAN 00002623 002 OF 002 requests have been approved and called the process smooth and uncomplicated. MOSD claims that the request application only requires NGOs to list the amount of funding, donor, project goals/objectives, and fund transfer method. (Note: Two local organizations that have completed the process disagreed and voiced annoyance at MOSD instructions to gather additional documentation. Mizan Legal Center for Human Rights, for instance, stated they were asked to provide more detail regarding the project budget and mechanisms to be used to reach beneficiaries as well as more information on Mizan itself. Despite the extra work, the organizations did not report any significant difficulty in obtaining approval. End Note.) -- Other: The MOSD is undertaking a series of initiatives to prepare both the government and civil society for implementation of the amendments. Ten workshops have been completed for staff from the MOSD and other ministries on the law and what it means in terms of implementation. The MOSD is working to develop an electronic registration system and database. This database will be accessible by all and include information on registered organizations. The MOSD is updating its website to include relevant laws and regulations, especially those pertaining to the Law on Associations. An awareness campaign on the law is also under development. The USAID Civil Society Strengthening Project is actively assisting the MOSD with these initiatives. Status of Implementing Regulations Unclear -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The MOSD has placed greater focus on the regulations governing the amendments, since they became effective on September 17 immediately after publication in the official gazette. MOSD staff along with the registrar's advisory board, and in consultation with civil society, have worked to iron out final details of the regulations, such as those pertaining to the work of the registrar's office, registration procedures for non-profit organizations, and procedures to request funding from foreign sources (ref A). ¶5. (SBU) On November 21, Minister of Social Development Hala Lattouf publicly announced that draft regulations had been completed and were currently being reviewed by the Legislative and Opinion Bureau in the Prime Minister's Office with the expectation that they would be approved by the Cabinet before the end of 2009. However, MOSD staff, including the Secretary General and head legal adviser, told Poloffs on November 25 that the regulations were still under discussion with civil society organizations and they were unable to provide a clear date as to when the process would be complete. Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) The full impact of the recent amendments to the Law on Associations cannot yet be determined. However, with implementation underway in advance of the regulations, glimpses of the potential impact can be captured. Civil society organizations state that, to date, their operating environment has not noticeably changed beyond some annoyance over the foreign funding approval requirement. There is still an element of the unknown, especially concerning the extent to which oversight authority will be exercised once all organizations have completed the process to rectify their status. This has caused some NGOs to look into other options such as becoming a for-profit or consulting company (ref E) But organizations, right now, are primarily operating as they did prior to passage of the amendments. End Comment. Mandel