In view of the planned visit of Majesty King Abdullah II King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to Brussels, December 15-16, where he is scheduled to meet with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, and High Representative Catherin Ashton, the EMHRN recalls all parties that the new EU-Jordan ENP Action Plan includes a number of commitments based on shared values, democratic principles, the rule of law and the respect of human rights.

The Executive Director of EMHRN, Marc Schade-Poulsen says: " human rights achievements should form an integral part of deepened relations between the EU and Jordan. However, there are concerns that the human rights situation in Jordan has either regressed or made very limited progress since the adoption of the first ENP action plan in 2005 and the announced second Action Plan in 2010”.

The EMHRN is particularly concerned with observations obtained from Jordanian organizations, indicating that the Jordanian government has not insured a free and fair electoral process during the National Elections held on November 9, 2010. Information obtained indicated that there were severe restrictions on freedom of opinion and expression. Moreover, the elections’ transparency has been put into question with allegations of election rigging. The EMHRN is particularly concerned with the new electoral law, which has been seen to boost tribalism, over represent rural districts, and under represent urban districts.

While the EMHRN commends Jordan for allowing 250 international observers to monitor the elections, concerns remain with the knowledge that the elections were run by governmental ministries instead of an independent commission.

The EMHRN strongly encourages both parties to:

· Ensure the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary through appropriate and adequate constitutional, legislative, and administrative measures;

· Ensure that the High Judicial Council is independent and can act independently of the executive, and to this end reconsider its composition and the preponderant role that the Minister of justice plays within it;

· Revise the Societies Law in consultation with all relevant parties, including NGOs, in order to comply with international standards on the right to association;

· Review existing legislation and amend as necessary to ensure equality between men and women, in particular discriminatory provisions in the penal code, the nationality law and the personal status law related to marriage and family relations;

· Lift the reservations to CEDAW and accede to the Convention’s Optional Protocol.

· Take the necessary measures to achieve the goals of the 2009 Euromed Ministerial Marrakech Conclusions on Strengthening the Role of Women in Society;

· Take steps to improve the national protection regime and especially adopt refugees’ status determination mechanism and proper legislation that provides legal status and protection for refugees;

· Ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention, 1967 Refugee Protocol and the International Convention on the protection of the rights of all migrants’ workers and members of their families.

The EMHRN calls the European Union and its membres states to:

· Strongly urge Jordan to respect and implement its human rights commitments regarding freedom of association;

· Ensure that any strengthening of relations between the EU and Jordan is accompanied by concrete commitments to protect freedom of association and the independence of the judiciary;

· Urge the Jordanian authorities to ensure fair and free elections and investigate irregularities observed.

FACTS:

The ninth EU-Jordan Association Council took place on October 26th 2010. This meeting represented the occasion to conduct a general review of the bilateral relations between the EU and Jordan. A new EU-Jordan ENP Action Plan has been adopted. The Association Council met ministerial level, rendering it the highest decision-making level in the framework of bilateral relations between the EU and Jordan.

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) was developed in 2004, with the objective of avoiding the emergence of new dividing lines between the EU and its neighbours by strengthening the prosperity, stability and security of all, based on democratic principles and human rights

CEDAW (the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women), is a landmark international agreement that affirms the principles of fundamental human rights and equality for women around the world.

The Euro-Mediterranean Network (EMHRN) is a network of more than 60 human rights organisations, institutions and individuals based in 30 countries in the Euro-Mediterranean region, adhering to universal human rights principles and convinced of the value of cooperation and dialogue across and within borders.