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15 August 2000
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CESCR
23rd session
15 August 2000
Morning
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this morning started its consideration of the second periodic report of Jordan, examining how that country complies with the rights and principles in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The Jordanian delegation told the Committee experts that Jordan=s tradition of respect for human rights predated the Covenant by some 8,000 years. The delegation also added that while many of its laws were based on tradition, modern practices were also the source of legislation.
The delegation, responding to questions from the Committee experts, explained that King Abdullah felt it was important to work within the spirit of the Covenant, and he had formed a committee to draw up a national action plan. This committee was headed by the Queen, illustrating how seriously this was being taken.
Asked if Jordanian law was drafted based on the principles of the Muslim religion, the delegation said laws were not based solely on religion. They were drafted with the Jordanian Constitution in mind, which guaranteed freedom of religion, but the source of laws varied.
The delegation of Jordan also explained that although it was a small country with limited resources, it played a regional role. The Government spent $350 million on refugees, and that was money that came out of the national budget and not from international aid. Such expenditures restricted the amount Jordan could spend in other areas, including education about human rights.
The Jordanian delegation consisted of Shehab Madi, the Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations Office at Geneva; Ibrahim Mahasneh, director of the Judicial Institute; Khaled Takhayneh, a lawyer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Saja Majali, the Third Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Jordan to the United Nations.
The Committee will reconvene this afternoon at 3 p.m. to continue its consideration of the report of Jordan.
Report of Jordan
The second periodic report of Jordan illustrates, on an article-by-article basis, how the Government complies with the tenets of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The report states that all the rights in the Covenant are guaranteed to citizens and non-citizens alike in Jordan. It also addresses a myriad of issues, including sections in which it details prohibitions against child labour and forced marriages, and areas in which it showcases domestic programmes like maternity leave, and several guaranteed rights, such as the right to food and the right to adequate housing.
Presentation of Report of Jordan
SHEHAB MADI, Jordan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said Jordan's respect for human rights predated the Covenant by some 8,000 years. While the road towards attaining all of the goals of the Committee was indeed long and arduous, the Government's commitment to do its best on all fronts was of utmost importance. Ever since King Abdullah II ascended to the throne, he had carried out determined efforts to make economic development and the struggle against poverty and unemployment among his highest priorities. The aim of these objectives had not blurred the other social needs of the society, whether relevant to education, health or environment. These other goals were interdependent and complementary. The Government of Jordan was constantly working towards improving the well-being of its entire population through the realization of all these inalienable rights by providing policies and programmes that focused on the human person, allowing access to education, health services and employment.
Discussion
Responding to questions posed by Committee experts, the delegation said the provisions of the Covenant were mainly included in domestic legislation. When King Abdullah felt it was important to work within the spirit of the Covenant, he formed a Committee to draw up a national action plan. This Committee was headed by the Queen, so it showed how seriously this was being taken. This Committee would consider all the rights guaranteed in the Covenant
Asked if Jordanian law was drafted based on the principles of the Muslim religion, the delegation said laws were not based on religion. They were drafted with the Jordanian Constitution in mind, which guaranteed freedom of religion. The source of laws varied. Islamic laws were a source where it concerned personal traditions, like marriage and heritage, while other laws were based on modern sources.
About the teaching of human rights, a Committee had been formed, comprised of workers from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and they had taken a survey of schools to learn what was already taught and what was available in schools.
The country was a small country with limited resources, the delegation said, but it played a regional role. It spent $350 million on refugees, and that money came from the budget -- not from international aid. Sadly, there were honour killings in the country, and it was shameful. The Government had proposed a prohibition of these killings to Parliament, but it was rejected. The Government was willing to listen to anything. Educating people on this would cost money, and it would be helpful if the international community could help with aid.
Concerning discrimination against women, the delegation said the National Commission of Women's Affairs attached great importance to the subject of discrimination against women, and many draft proposals had been forwarded to Parliament. These procedures took time, but it did not mean the country was complacent. It was on the path to reform.
In Jordan, a foreigner could work. There were requirements -- a work permit was necessary -- but there were no prohibitions. Some neighbouring countries did not allow foreigners to work, but Jordan did not have those restrictions in employment. A foreigner could buy a house, could invest, and could work. As for cleaning women, they could change jobs. But the Ministry of the Interior asked the employer to take care and to be the guarantor of a cleaning woman.
As for Jordanians marrying foreign women, the delegation said, the wife of a Jordanian man became a Jordanian. Right now, the foreign husband of a Jordanian woman did not have the right to Jordanian nationality, although that was being reconsidered. The child of a Jordanian man would be a Jordanian. When a Jordanian woman married a foreign man, the child would have the right to choose to be a Jordanian.
A police unit had been set up to deal with domestic violence. There may have been instances where there were incidents of domestic violence, but often times they were not brought to the attention of the police. This was not necessarily a national policy. There were about 25 policewomen who were being trained to be specialists in domestic violence. Statistics were not readily available, but could be obtained if necessary.
About marital rape, according to Jordanian law, the definition of rape was the rape of a woman by an unknown person. So it was not possible for a husband to rape his wife. If a husband found his wife in an act of adultery, an attack triggered by that could be a mitigating circumstance and he could go unpunished. But a wife who attacked her husband if she found him in an act of adultery would not be able to use that mitigating circumstance as a defence. Several intellectuals said this was unacceptable. There were circles that were moving to get an amendment to that, but that would need time. But at the end of the day, Jordanian law would triumph.
Asked about the right to work, the delegation said married women enjoyed the same protections as other women. A Jordanian woman was allowed to be financially independent. Her money would be hers, and her assets would be hers. They were protected because they were separate.
The delegation said new laws should be published in an official gazette, although if for some reason, the law was never published, that law was not deemed invalid.
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23rd session
15 August 2000
Morning
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this morning started its consideration of the second periodic report of Jordan, examining how that country complies with the rights and principles in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The Jordanian delegation told the Committee experts that Jordan=s tradition of respect for human rights predated the Covenant by some 8,000 years. The delegation also added that while many of its laws were based on tradition, modern practices were also the source of legislation.
The delegation, responding to questions from the Committee experts, explained that King Abdullah felt it was important to work within the spirit of the Covenant, and he had formed a committee to draw up a national action plan. This committee was headed by the Queen, illustrating how seriously this was being taken.
Asked if Jordanian law was drafted based on the principles of the Muslim religion, the delegation said laws were not based solely on religion. They were drafted with the Jordanian Constitution in mind, which guaranteed freedom of religion, but the source of laws varied.
The delegation of Jordan also explained that although it was a small country with limited resources, it played a regional role. The Government spent $350 million on refugees, and that was money that came out of the national budget and not from international aid. Such expenditures restricted the amount Jordan could spend in other areas, including education about human rights.
The Jordanian delegation consisted of Shehab Madi, the Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations Office at Geneva; Ibrahim Mahasneh, director of the Judicial Institute; Khaled Takhayneh, a lawyer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Saja Majali, the Third Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Jordan to the United Nations.
The Committee will reconvene this afternoon at 3 p.m. to continue its consideration of the report of Jordan.
Report of Jordan
The second periodic report of Jordan illustrates, on an article-by-article basis, how the Government complies with the tenets of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The report states that all the rights in the Covenant are guaranteed to citizens and non-citizens alike in Jordan. It also addresses a myriad of issues, including sections in which it details prohibitions against child labour and forced marriages, and areas in which it showcases domestic programmes like maternity leave, and several guaranteed rights, such as the right to food and the right to adequate housing.
Presentation of Report of Jordan
SHEHAB MADI, Jordan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said Jordan's respect for human rights predated the Covenant by some 8,000 years. While the road towards attaining all of the goals of the Committee was indeed long and arduous, the Government's commitment to do its best on all fronts was of utmost importance. Ever since King Abdullah II ascended to the throne, he had carried out determined efforts to make economic development and the struggle against poverty and unemployment among his highest priorities. The aim of these objectives had not blurred the other social needs of the society, whether relevant to education, health or environment. These other goals were interdependent and complementary. The Government of Jordan was constantly working towards improving the well-being of its entire population through the realization of all these inalienable rights by providing policies and programmes that focused on the human person, allowing access to education, health services and employment.
Discussion
Responding to questions posed by Committee experts, the delegation said the provisions of the Covenant were mainly included in domestic legislation. When King Abdullah felt it was important to work within the spirit of the Covenant, he formed a Committee to draw up a national action plan. This Committee was headed by the Queen, so it showed how seriously this was being taken. This Committee would consider all the rights guaranteed in the Covenant
Asked if Jordanian law was drafted based on the principles of the Muslim religion, the delegation said laws were not based on religion. They were drafted with the Jordanian Constitution in mind, which guaranteed freedom of religion. The source of laws varied. Islamic laws were a source where it concerned personal traditions, like marriage and heritage, while other laws were based on modern sources.
About the teaching of human rights, a Committee had been formed, comprised of workers from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and they had taken a survey of schools to learn what was already taught and what was available in schools.
The country was a small country with limited resources, the delegation said, but it played a regional role. It spent $350 million on refugees, and that money came from the budget -- not from international aid. Sadly, there were honour killings in the country, and it was shameful. The Government had proposed a prohibition of these killings to Parliament, but it was rejected. The Government was willing to listen to anything. Educating people on this would cost money, and it would be helpful if the international community could help with aid.
Concerning discrimination against women, the delegation said the National Commission of Women's Affairs attached great importance to the subject of discrimination against women, and many draft proposals had been forwarded to Parliament. These procedures took time, but it did not mean the country was complacent. It was on the path to reform.
In Jordan, a foreigner could work. There were requirements -- a work permit was necessary -- but there were no prohibitions. Some neighbouring countries did not allow foreigners to work, but Jordan did not have those restrictions in employment. A foreigner could buy a house, could invest, and could work. As for cleaning women, they could change jobs. But the Ministry of the Interior asked the employer to take care and to be the guarantor of a cleaning woman.
As for Jordanians marrying foreign women, the delegation said, the wife of a Jordanian man became a Jordanian. Right now, the foreign husband of a Jordanian woman did not have the right to Jordanian nationality, although that was being reconsidered. The child of a Jordanian man would be a Jordanian. When a Jordanian woman married a foreign man, the child would have the right to choose to be a Jordanian.
A police unit had been set up to deal with domestic violence. There may have been instances where there were incidents of domestic violence, but often times they were not brought to the attention of the police. This was not necessarily a national policy. There were about 25 policewomen who were being trained to be specialists in domestic violence. Statistics were not readily available, but could be obtained if necessary.
About marital rape, according to Jordanian law, the definition of rape was the rape of a woman by an unknown person. So it was not possible for a husband to rape his wife. If a husband found his wife in an act of adultery, an attack triggered by that could be a mitigating circumstance and he could go unpunished. But a wife who attacked her husband if she found him in an act of adultery would not be able to use that mitigating circumstance as a defence. Several intellectuals said this was unacceptable. There were circles that were moving to get an amendment to that, but that would need time. But at the end of the day, Jordanian law would triumph.
Asked about the right to work, the delegation said married women enjoyed the same protections as other women. A Jordanian woman was allowed to be financially independent. Her money would be hers, and her assets would be hers. They were protected because they were separate.
The delegation said new laws should be published in an official gazette, although if for some reason, the law was never published, that law was not deemed invalid.
* *** *