UPR preparations underway in Jordan

Since March 2018, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has seen a flurry of multi-stakeholder activity in preparation for its third UPR (scheduled for November 2018). Several national civil society coalitions have conducted UPR-related events, in collaboration with the Government of Jordan, donors and other stakeholders. The activities have aimed to measure the successes and challenges related to 2013 UPR recommendations. Three consultation meetings were organised by the coalitions to discuss the UPR process, as well as highlight the priorities from the perspective of the civil society stakeholders. The perspective of the Government – a key partner in the UPR civil society/State dialogue – was also addressed during the meetings. In addition, the coalitions gave an overview of their submitted stakeholder reports which they submitted by March 2018.

The civil society coalitions are now actively working on advocacy activities, which include: launching their reports through press conferences; identifying their priorities and action plans to draw attention to these key concerns; and meeting with the international diplomatic community to raise awareness and gather support. 

The Jordanian Government is taking an active and committed role in UPR-related activities, under the guidance of the Office of the Human Rights Coordinator, headed by H.E. Mr. Basel Tarawneh. The governmental coordination meetings have focused on identifying the legislative priorities amongst the state bodies and officials. In addition, the Office of the Human Rights Coordinator also encouraged further implementation of the second-cycle UPR recommendations ahead of the third UPR review in November. Further, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung office in Jordan recently conducted a technical training for the members of the governmental committee, in coordination with the Office of the Human Rights Coordinator, to support the preparation of Jordan’s national UPR report.

Jordan is a priority country of UPR info’s In-country Programme. In this vein, UPR Info has partnered with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Jordan to support joint activities to engage all UPR stakeholders including: civil society coalitions; the National Center for Human Rights; grassroots advocates; Government representatives; and the international diplomatic and donor communities.