Jordan Criticized Over New Laws, Urged To Withdraw Drafts

July 1, 2008 10:30 a.m. EST

Cairo, Egypt (AHN) - Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Jordanian Prime Minister Nader Dahabi to withdraw two new draft laws on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and public assembly. The Washington-based rights organization said the new laws would further "expand the government's control" over such organizations.

HRW said the public assembly law would continue to restrict Jordanians' rights to demonstrate, requiring the Ministry of Interior to approve any meetings that discuss "public policies."

"These draft laws show Jordan's intolerance for critical debate in a democracy," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Jordan is trying to put a legal veneer on its efforts to stifle civil society."

The new laws were introduced by the PM at an extraordinary session of Parliament in May and June this year after Dahabi had earlier withdrawn an NGO law in January. He urged a revision of the assembly law.

The criticism received for the new laws has been great, including a HRW report entitled "Shutting Out the Critics," which showed how Jordan's existing laws violated the rights to association and assembly.

International law allows for certain restrictions on these rights under circumstances that are "necessary in a democratic society."

HRW said the new laws, if passed, would represent a "drastic step backwards" in Jordan's independent civil society organizations' development.