Press Release
Jordan downgraded in global human rights report as clampdown on teachers’ union continues
8 December, 2021- Jordan downgraded from ‘obstructed’ to ‘repressed’
- Concerns about the ongoing crackdown on Jordanian Teachers’ Syndicate
- Deterioration of media freedoms and freedom of expression
Jordan has been downgraded from ‘obstructed’ to ‘repressed’ in a new report by the CIVICUS Monitor, a global research collaboration that rates and tracks fundamental freedoms in 197 countries and territories. According to the report, People Power Under Attack 2021, the suspension of the last remaining Teachers’ Association, internet shutdowns, and restrictions enforced on journalists, civil society and activists, have led to the downgrade.
A ‘repressed’ rating is the second-worst categorisation a country can receive; it means that civic freedoms, including the freedoms of association, assembly and expression, are significantly constrained in Jordan. Anyone who criticises the authorities risks harassment, arrest and imprisonment. Other countries in the region with this rating include Palestine, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.
The CIVICUS Monitor is particularly concerned about assaults on civil society in Jordan, especially the dissolution of the country’s largest union, the Jordanian Teachers’ Syndicate (JTS). The authorities have arrested and intimidated union members and continued to break up and disperse teachers’ protests.
Created in the aftermath of the 2011 Arab Spring, the union was shut down in July 2020, and 13 board members were arrested after its leaders were accused of appropriating funds. Since its formation, the union and the Jordanian authorities have been at loggerheads with tensions increasing after the government froze public pay increases last year during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Further clampdowns on the Jordanian Teachers’ Syndicate continued in 2021. In January, the government announced the early retirement of 62 teachers, all members of the JTS. In August, the Jordanian authorities arrested Deputy Head of the JTS, Nasser Al-Nawasrah, and around 30 teachers who were on their way to a sit-in protest in the town of Al-Qatraneh, southern Jordan/ The authorities shut down all secondary roads leading to the demonstration site, preventing other teachers from attending the peaceful assembly.
“Suppressing protests organised by the largest teachers’ union in Jordan is a direct violation of the right to express opinions and organise peaceful assemblies freely. The legal basis for dissolving the Jordanian Teachers’ Syndicate is questionable and highlights the absolute unwillingness of the authorities to respect dissenting views,” said Aarti Narsee, Middle East & North Africa Civic Space Researcher at CIVICUS.
The CIVICUS Monitor is also concerned about the recent arrest of 36 students who took part in protests against the water deal between Jordan and Israel. Additionally, Jordan’s increasing clampdown on media freedoms and freedom of expression is worrying. In November 2021, the Governor of Amman banned the JTS from holding a press conference, while last year, a gag-order was placed on journalists preventing them from discussing the teachers’ protests.
In March 2021, following the deaths of COVID-19 patients due to an oxygen shortage in a hospital, authorities disrupted access to Facebook Live. Also, in April 2021, in the aftermath of an alleged coup attempt linked to Prince Hamzah, a gag-order was issued banning media from discussing the event, together with a two-day internet shutdown in parts of western Amman.
The respect for free speech has been steadily declining in Jordan. In 2020, Jamal Haddad, publisher of the news website Alwakaai, was arrested after questioning the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, while famous cartoonist Imad Hajjaj was detained after reportedly drawing a cartoon criticising a deal made between the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
In Jordan, the environment for civil society and activism is becoming increasingly hostile; this year the government blocked ‘Club House’, a social media app widely used by human rights defenders and public figures to disseminate important information about political developments.
“Jordan was once regarded as one of the more tolerant countries in the turbulent Middle East, but crackdowns on teachers’ protests and a clampdown on media outlets critical of the government highlight a steady deterioration of civic rights. The lurch towards more repressive tactics, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, raises fears that Jordan will follow in the footsteps of its authoritarian neighbours,” said Narsee.
The deterioration of civic rights in Jordan is mirrored across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), home to some of the most repressive regimes in the world. Data from the CIVICUS Monitor shows there have been no major improvements in fundamental freedoms in this region documented this past year.
Civic freedoms in 197 countries and territories are categorised as either closed, repressed, obstructed, narrowed or open, based on a methodology that combines several sources of data on the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression.
Jordan is now rated ‘repressed’ on the CIVICUS Monitor. The country joins 48 other countries with this rating (see all). This rating is typically given to countries where power holders heavily contested civic spaces, who impose a combination of legal and practical constraints on the full enjoyment of fundamental rights. Visit Jordan’s homepage on the CIVICUS Monitor for more information and check back regularly for the latest updates.
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