AMMAN — The
Jordanian National Coalition for Non-Governmental Organizations (JONAF), along
with other civil society organizations, has expressed concerns over the recent
developments in legislation that they believe would restrict their work in
Jordan and affect their funding approval mechanisms.
اضافة اعلان
As a result, JONAF has issued a position paper to make their views heard.
RestrictionsThe proposed
amendments to the current Associations Law and the introduction of new funding
mechanisms by the government have raised concerns amongst civil society
organizations.
They fear that these
changes would restrict their operations, which have been ongoing in the public
sphere for many decades, guaranteed by national legislation led by the Jordan
Constitution of 1952, and subsequent laws and regulations.
The coalition stated
that any amendments to the present law should be made within the current
climate of the outputs of the royal vision to modernize the political system in
Jordan.
There are currently
6,612 associations, 1,400 non-profit companies, 1,500 cooperative societies,
and 250 branch associations of foreign associations in Jordan.
JONAF believes that
any changes to the law should reflect the interests of the massive civil
society sector.
Foreign funding
restrictionsThe position paper
introduced by JONAF calls for "the creation of a single, independent
reference body concerned with registration, follow-up, oversight, and supervision
of the work of civil society organizations, setting governance policies for
them, enabling and organizing initiatives, addressing mechanisms for accepting
foreign funding, and its subsequent control under the law, and unifying the
support reference."
The coalition
emphasized that any changes should positively contribute to the law as it
currently stands.
Deadly bureaucracyThe paper states the
government should make use of the current information and communication
technology as a means of dealing with civil society organizations instead of
the deadly bureaucracy experienced by the relevant ministries.
The civil society
organizations sector in Jordan employs thousands of Jordanians and provides
services to hundreds of thousands in many vital and development sectors, such
as education, health, and emergency relief.
Additionally, they
represent and raise the voices of the communities they serve, as well as
protecting human rights and the rights of women in the home, against violence,
and in the workplace.
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