JORDAN: A/S POSNER'S FOCUS ON DEMOCRATIC AND HUMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 AMMAN 000461

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/14/2020
TAGS: KDEM KMPI KPAL KWMN PREL PGOV PHUM JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN: A/S POSNER'S FOCUS ON DEMOCRATIC AND HUMAN
RIGHTS REFORM, PART 2

REF: A. AMMAN 326

B. AMMAN 283

C. AMMAN 220

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


1. (C) Summary: Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary for
Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL),pressed the
Jordanian government during his January 10-11 visit to move
forward on the implementation of a number of high-priority
political and human rights reforms. This cable describes A/S
Posner's side-meetings with government officials during his
Amman visit. Meetings with non-governmental contacts were
reported reftel (ref A) and details from the Political Reform
Dialogue will be reported septel. Additionally, S/P Director
Anne-Marie Slaughter joined A/S Posner for a dinner with
Jordanian women's rights activists (ref C).


2. (C) During A/S Posner's individual program, he met with
Minister of Labor Ibrahim Omoush, Minister of Justice Ayman
Odeh, Ministry of Interior Secretary General Abu Jammous,
Jordan Press Association President Abdel Wahab Zgheilat,
Freedom House Country Director Lama Khreis, Christian
religious leaders, and freedom of expression activists. With
his interlocutors, A/S Posner specifically focused on the
need to address problems in Jordan's troubled democratic and
human rights record, particularly the existing flawed
electoral law, the status of women's rights, and limits to
freedom of expression. He also expressed an interest in
Jordanian efforts to combat forced labor, codify legal rights
for foreign workers, improve prison conditions, investigate
and prosecute police abuse, end administrative detention, and
promote judicial reform. End summary.

Electoral Law Reform and Elections
--------------


3. (C) A primary theme throughout the visit was amendments to
the existing electoral law and preparations to ensure a free,
fair, and transparent parliamentary election. A/S Posner
pressed for the government to address the
under-representation of urban areas in the current electoral
system and stressed that such electoral inequalities only
lead to disenfranchised, discontented citizens and could lead
to an unstable domestic environment which would hinder
economic, social, and political progress. Government
interlocutors did not provide any details of which amendments
are under consideration and also failed to specifically
outline plans for election preparation. They also did not
comment upon the list of recommendations for electoral law
reform the National Center for Human Rights created with
input from a number of civil society organizations. Justice
Minister Odeh and Interior officials only stated that an
inter-ministerial committee chaired by the Prime Minister had
been formed with a mandate to reform the electoral system.
Related to this issue, interlocutors also generally touched
upon decentralization proposals to give citizens a greater
voice in identifying community priorities and needs.

Women's Rights
--------------


4. (C) A range of women's rights issues were also discussed
throughout the visit. A/S Posner specifically pressed for
greater action to combat gender-based violence, including
honor crimes. Justice Minister Odeh briefly discussed the
recently formed honor crimes tribunal and attempts to stop
the use of two penal code articles commonly used to hand down
lenient sentences. The first, the "fit of fury" Article 98,
can be used to grant sentences as low as six months. The
second, Article 99, allows judges to reduce the punishment in
half if the victim,s family drops charges, even if the
victim and perpetrator are from the same family. The
tribunal has not used either provision in the first three
cases brought before it and has given the longest punishment
possible (15 years) in the last two cases. Odeh admitted
that legislative changes are required and stated that such
changes are currently in the draft penal code reform package.
Odeh believed the government will approve this package as a
temporary law, as this action is permissible now that the
King has dissolved parliament. (Note: In theory, the new
parliament must review and vote on the temporary legislation;
though, in practice, this type of review has not been done by
parliament. End Note.) According to Odeh, if the temporary
law is passed, judges would no longer be able to use the
above two articles just because "honor" is used as a
justification for murder. Judges would only be permitted to
apply leniency if the alleged victim is seen "in the act" of
performing the infidelity. This must be observed not only by
husbands, but also by four other witnesses. It will be
extremely difficult to meet this criteria and Odeh believes

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lenient sentences will no longer be possible.

Freedom of Expression
--------------


5. (C) Restrictions on the freedoms of media and expression
were raised with both governmental and non-governmental
contacts. A/S Posner highlighted specific restrictions with
Justice Minister Odeh, including the threat of high fines, up
to 20,000 USD, under the Press and Publications Law and the
threat of imprisonment under the penal code, and the fact
that over 90 percent of local journalists state they continue
to practice self-censorship. A/S Posner asked Odeh to
consider eliminating these restrictions as part of the
government's overall efforts to reform the penal code via a
temporary law. Odeh appeared to be surprised by claims the
penal code had been used to threaten and prosecute
journalists and asked for a listing of the penal code
articles of particular concern. Post will follow-up with
Odeh and discuss such articles in detail.

Labor Law Reform
--------------


6. (C) A/S Posner's visit presented another opportunity to
press the government on the need to move forward with
intelligent and targeted labor law reform. Labor law reform
has been on the government's agenda for the past two years,
but has stalled due to competing priorities and a
slow-moving, inefficient parliament. As mentioned earlier,
in the absence of parliament, the government has the power to
pass these reforms through using a temporary law. A/S Posner
also raised concerns with the new Minister of Labor, Ibrahim
Omoush, regarding the current draft package and stressed the
need to ensure that amendments meet international standards.
A priority item for the U.S. is the elimination of strict
eligibility requirements foreign workers must meet to join a
union - 5 years of legal work in-county and reciprocal
legislation in their source country. Omoush stated that he
has not yet reviewed the amendments or the International
Labor Organization's critique of the law, but confirmed a
review will take place in the Ministry of Labor before it is
moved forward for final governmental approval. Omoush
appeared concerned about the 5-year rule for foreign workers
and asked his staff about the origin of this requirement.
Receiving no answer, Omoush again reiterated his intention to
review the amendments and carefully consider both USG and ILO
concerns. A/S Posner also stressed the importance for
mechanisms to be in place for foreign workers, who are often
young women, to file sexual harassment claims.


7. (C) For his part, Omoush highlighted a range of past and
on-going initiatives to eradicate forced labor in Qualifying
Industrial Zones (QIZs) and among foreign domestic workers.
In the QIZs, Omoush reviewed efforts to enhance inspection
efforts, including the hiring of additional inspectors and
improved training programs. He also discussed the adoption
of a "Golden List" to reward factories that have achieved a
high level of labor compliance and a "Black List" for poor
performers. Currently, 30 of the approximately 80 QIZ
factories have achieved Golden List status for their clean
records and are, therefore, exempt from bank guarantees which
are used as a way to ensure that foreign workers abide by the
terms of their work contracts and visas. One factory is
currently being considered for the Black List, which would
result in their inability to hire new foreign workers. The
ministry is also considering making factory participation in
the ILO-IFC Better Work Jordan project mandatory.


8. (C) Omoush stated that the labor cooperation agreement
between the U.S. Department of Labor and his Ministry is
under review by the new government and he believes it will be
ready for signature in the near future. To further inform
the new minister, post will also arrange for briefings by
USAID and the ILO.

Trafficking-in-Persons
--------------


9. (C) Justice Minister Odeh, Labor Minister Omoush, and
Ministry of Interior officials all highlighted the
government's commitment to combating trafficking-in-persons
(TIP). The officials trumpeted their new legal framework to
combat TIP, which includes the new anti-trafficking law,
domestic worker regulations, and recruitment agency
regulations. Ministers Omoush and Odeh also spoke about the
National TIP Committee and its active sub-committees. One
sub-committee is nearing completion of a National Strategy to
Combat TIP and another sub-committee is drafting regulations
and a plan for a TIP shelter. Minister Omoush and Ministry
of Interior officials also spoke of the increased
investigation efforts and the formation of a police-labor

AMMAN 00000461 003 OF 004


inspector/TIP investigation unit.


10. (C) A/S Posner praised Jordan's commitment to fighting
TIP and its progress to date, but stressed that the hard work
must continue. Though GOJ officials claimed investigations
have increased, they were unable to point to any significant
increase in prosecutions beyond general assertions that some
cases are being considered by the courts. A/S Posner also
impressed upon them the need to create a shelter with civil
society partners, improve victim services, and increase
public awareness. All parties agreed that it is difficult to
investigate forced labor allegations by domestic workers as
abuse often occurs behind closed doors and in personal
households. Though officials continuously expressed their
commitment to fight TIP and treat it as a serious crime,
troublingly, Omoush stated that "reports of domestic worker
abuse are exaggerated" and Interior officials stated that it
was not a serious problem in Jordan.

Police Abuse and Prison Reform
--------------


11. (C) Jordan's troubled record of police abuse, including
two recent deaths of citizens at the hands of police
officers, was also raised by A/S Posner, who stressed the
need to ensure that such abuse is adequately investigated and
prosecuted with appropriate sentences handed down. Interior
officials responded that police are "not immune" from
punishment and that all allegations of abuse are investigated
with appropriate action taken. They further stated that
police officers responsible for the two recent deaths are in
jail and currently facing murder charges before the police.
When pressed on the role of police courts and potential
conflict of interest, Interior officials stated police are
held to a higher standard and that all police court decisions
are reviewed by civil appellate courts. Justice Minister
Odeh did not specifically address whether or not police
courts tend to be more lenient, but instead confirmed that
police courts use the same penal code and that all decisions
are reviewed by civilian courts. (Note: Post has actively
engaged the government on the role of police courts and has
found no indication that these courts will be eliminated in
the future. The police, however, are aware that
organizations are watching the verdicts of these special
courts. End Note)


12. (C) Jordanian officials also outlined efforts to combat
torture and improve prison conditions, specifically plans to
place the entire correctional and rehabilitation system under
the Ministry of Justice instead of the Public Security
Directorate (PSD). Interior officials boasted the decision
and portrayed it as a move forward, but Minister Odeh said
that there are no concrete plans in place to accomplish this
goal. Odeh thought it would be a 5 to 7 year process and
indicated that the Ministry of Justice looking for further
guidance and assistance from European Union-funded projects.
Interestingly, Odeh also believes the Forensics Department,
currently under the Ministry of Health, and the Crime Scene
Investigation Unit, currently under the PSD, should also be
transferred to the Ministry of Justice to enable an
improvement in investigations and prosecutions.

Administrative Detention
--------------


13. (C) The ability for Jordan's 13 regional governors to
administratively detain individuals deemed to be dangerous to
the community was raised with Minister of Justice Odeh. Odeh
acknowledged the lack of due process resulting from
administrative detention, but stated that judicial reform,
especially prosecutorial reform, must be the top priority to
ensure due process. According to Odeh, prosecutors are
holding over 800 people in Jordan's prison system without
charge, which is significantly higher than those detained by
governors. In fact, Odeh stated governors are sometimes
forced to take action due to deficiencies of the judiciary
and cited these results in a high-rate of case dismissals,
even of repeat offenders. To address these problems, Odeh
reiterated the need to at least double the number of
prosecutors, develop accumulated experience among prosecutors
(i.e. stop the rotation of judges into prosecutorial slots
for several years),and later amend the criminal law to give
Attorney Generals more authority. These reforms, according
to Odeh, should result in lower caseloads, increased
efficiency, and higher conviction rates. Consequently, an
improved system will lead to a reduction in the number of
individuals being held without charge either by prosecutors
or governors.

Comment
--------------


AMMAN 00000461 004 OF 004



14. (C) Comment: Throughout the meetings, government
officials pledged their commitment to improving human rights
and addressing specific issues. It is common to hear such
positive responses during meetings with high-level visitors
from Washington and there has been some action to improve
prison conditions, combat forced labor, and address gender
based violence. However, there has been little political
will to move forward with reforms perceived to be difficult
or controversial by the GOJ. Most observers believe the
government will not reform the electoral law in any
meaningful manner and will continue to discriminate against
urban (i.e. Palestinian) areas. In addition, a recent
decision by the highest Jordanian court (the Court of
Cessation) indicates that material published on the Internet
may now be subject to the Jordanian Press and Publications
law, which allows for fines of up to USD 28,000 for
infractions such as the publication of material offensive to
people's religious feelings or beliefs. Only when the king
and government believe that the U.S. Congress and U.S.
administration are serious about certain reforms will they
take notice and attempt some level of reform. Continued
engagement by senior U.S. officials, such as A/S Posner, will
keep the pressure on the Jordanians and indicate to them that
their reform efforts are being monitored by those who also
follow the considerable foreign assistance levels allocated
to Jordan. End Comment.


15. (U) This cable was cleared by staff of Assistant
Secretary Posner.
Beecroft