Publication Type: Policy Papers

A policy brief calling for enabling social and political participation of Palestinian refugee youth in the MENA region

The brief calls for efforts to be exerted to enable the participation of Palestinian refugee youth in public governance within their communities, beyond traditional civic engagement approaches. Only by doing so can risks posed by general frustration, socio-political disengagement, and low levels of trust in institutions be avoided. The Policy Brief is based on Al Nahda Thought Center “Voices of Palestinian Refugee Youth across the Near East: Socio-Political Participation and Aspirations” Study and proposes five recommendations for programmatic interventions: 1-Enhance Palestinian refugee youth’s access to justice; 2-Strengthen their opportunity to participate in public governance within their communities; 3-Build on the opportunities provided by youth’s “wired citizenship”; 4-Support the rehabilitation of Palestinian cultural heritage and identity vis-à-vis host societies and among Palestinian refugee youth; 5-Promote opportunities for quality education with a view to enhancing opportunities for decent work. The brief also recommends the need to implement tailored youth-oriented data collection along with psychosocial support as needed within each of the programmatic areas. The Brief is written under the assumption that efforts to reduce the economic marginalization of Palestinian refugee youth must underpin programmatic initiatives regarding political participation efforts, as decent livelihoods lie at the basis of youth’s future in their communities and the region.

Decisions and measures taken by the Jordanian Government to respond to the COVID-19 health crisis (24/3/2020-30/4/2020)

This paper is part of a series that summarises the decisions and measures taken by various sectors of the Jordanian government in the face of the COVID-19 health crisis. This is the second summary that compiles and documents the decisions and actions taken by Jordanian officials, this time in the 24/3/2020-30/4/2020 period, with the aim of studying and analyzing them later. The original document is drafted in Arabic and contains a much more detailed account of these measures.

Legal Paper on children’s rights draft bill for 2020 in Jordan

The Convention on the Rights of the Child, one of the most important documents concerning children, was adopted in 1989, after the UN General Assembly approved making it into international law. It entered into force in 1990, having been ratified by most United Nations member states and is an international charter outlining children’s civil, political, economic and cultural rights. In 1991, Jordan was one of the first Middle Eastern countries to ratify the CRC.   Over time, Jordan has continued to be a pioneer in ratifying international and regional human rights instruments related to children. In 2006, Jordan issued law 50/2006, which ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child as after the legislature approved its adoption. However, no other law concerning the rights of children has been issued since then, despite many attempts throughout the years. On January 14, 2020, Jordan published a draft bill for children’s rights, to be promulgated pending the approval of the legislature[1]. This paper is part of Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development’s (ARDD) efforts and programmes advocating for raising children in a safe environment and ensuring their protection and access to justice. In this paper, ARDD aims to present its legal opinion on the draft bill for children’s rights 2020, and to shed light on the main legal text as it pertains to the importance of this bill at the local level. This paper also considers the role of this legislation in creating a solid and clear legal text, and expanding the legislative framework concerning children’s rights and protection. The bill is also important internationally as it strengthens the main principles and commitments of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by implementing the international conventions on human rights. Finally, the bill is a positive addition to strengthening human rights in general, and children’s right in Jordan, in particular. [1] To read the full children’s rights draft bill, follow the link: http://www.lob.jo/View_LawContent.aspx?ID=1226

Legal Paper:New Procedures Home Based Businesses Professional Practice License For Syrians in Jordan

This paper addresses the recently amendments issued on the procedures of 2017 , which allows the practice of certain home-based professions, and their impact on Syrian women refugees’ economic participation and empowerment, the paper also discusses the summary of the development of these instructions, and how it affects Syrian refugees. It also clarifies the conditions of registration of such works and procedures, and the relevant challenges, in addition to discussing the general challenges and recommendations related thereto.  Through its programs and services, ARDD seeks to establish a democratic society in which everyone enjoys social, economic and political justice regardless of their situation and background, including Syrian refugees. ARDD focuses its attention on the labor sector, especially with regard to the economic participation of refugee women, and therefore aims through its services, whether legal or other to promote women’s economic participation and support and strive to remove all challenges affecting the participation of refugee women in the labor market, and their economic participation as a whole. As part of its endeavors, ARDD conducts studies and research, holds legal awareness workshops, legal counseling, support and advocate to improve women’s economic participation and create a safe environment free of gender discrimination. ARDD also present opinion paper on all initiatives and decisions that it considers affect women’s economic participation, whether positive or negative.

Legal Paper: Non-Jordanian Work Permit’s Fee Regulation

In this paper we discuss the legal situation of migrant workers in Jordan, whose numbers has increased significantly in the last ten years, prompting the authorities to find legislative and regulatory solutions that seek to balance the situation of local and expatriate workers. The analysis below highlights the different stages the work permit Non-Jordanian Work Permit’s Fee Regulation for non-Jordanians went through, in terms of the adoption and amendment of texts, and their impact on the categories covered by this regulation, and examines its suitability to the needs of non-Jordanian workers in Jordan and the success the (free work permit) regulation has achieved in terms of facilitating their work and improve their economic opportunities. Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) seeks through its programs and services to establish a democratic society in which everyone enjoys social, economic and political justice regardless of their situation and background, including Syrian refugees and other nationalities coming to Jordan. As part of its efforts in this regard, ARDD’s Legal Aid Department seeks to explain the legal procedures and labor rights of non-Jordanians and the conditions of work in Jordan, in addition to holding several awareness workshops in many regions of the Kingdom to clarify the most important and important points related to work permits.

Gendering decision-making in mobility and insecurity; the necessity for including Syrian women and girls in discussions on potential return

As part of its perspectives series, and after the paper “Jordanian youth and their decision-making processes regarding their futures”, in which Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) addressed the phenomenon of increasing out-migration of Jordanian youth, and the second paper entitled “Regional Responses regarding the Integration of Europe’s Recently Arrived Arab Diaspora/Shataat” addressing the regional response to the integration of the recently arrived Arab diaspora into Europe and calls for more regional cooperation. In its third perspectives’ paper “Gendering decision-making in mobility and insecurity; the necessity for including Syrian women and girls in discussions on potential return”, ARDD calls for more efforts to be conducted to research the gender aspect in such decisions and demands that no such decisions should be made without inclusion of women and girls in the process and the guarantee of their voluntary return into safe and dignified conditions.

Regional Responses regarding the Integration of Europe’s Recently Arrived Arab Diaspora/Shataat

In this paper we address the potential for civil society organizations (CSOs) from the MENA-region to positively contribute to discussions in Europe about the most recently arrived Arab diaspora, or shataat. We explore if, and how, lessons learned from this region with regard to hospitality and refugee hosting can be of use for governmental and institutional bodies and for civil society elsewhere. We particularly question how we can respond to problems related to the integration of recently arrived Arab migrants, taking the MENA region – which consists of sending and transitioning countries – as the point of departure. As such, it is our hope to contribute to dialogue that fosters the building of bridges towards inclusion within European countries, and that further counters exclusionary, racist and xenophobic tendencies. 

Jordanian youth and their decision-making processes regarding their futures

In this paper we address the issue of out-migration of Jordanian youth, which has consistently been noteworthy. We consider the factors that influence the decision-making processes of Jordanian youth regarding migration in a way that consciously takes individualistic motivations into consideration while attempting to recognize certain patterns and commonalities among this specific age cohort. Within this analysis, we recognize the ways that young people are often reduced to either a ‘resource’ that must be mobilized or taken advantage of, or a social hazard that is to be placated and controlled. We also look into opportunities for growth by analysing existing gaps that relate to youth and migration such as unemployment and recognize the considerable mismatch between skills gained in academia and the needs of the labor market. Further, we look into the ways that prolonged periods out of education and employment, and difficult transitions from education to work, can further increase youth exclusion and frustration while also considering social and cultural elements of exclusion, with specific attention to gender. Many factors influence the decisions – or desires – of young Jordanians with regard to migration. It is important to focus on structural changes that directly influence the well-being of youth. Ultimately, we believe that the opportunity to close the gap between what young people want and what they lack is present and requires studying and analysing the problems of disadvantaged youth with the goal to ultimately develop evidence-based policies.

ARDD issues a legal paper on Birth registration statistics for Syrian Refugees in Jordan

Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011 and the influx of Syrian refugees into Jordan, it was expected that vital civil incidents would occur in the refugee community, especially with the protracted crisis situation since 2011, and the most prominent of these incidents were birth and death. Making documenting these incidents essential, especially in light of the Jordanian laws, which obliges everyone who has been on Jordanian lands – when these incidents occurred on t – to register them with the Jordanian Civil Status Department and to issue official documents for these incidents via birth, deaths or marriage certificate to document that it took place on Jordanian territory, regardless of nationality. Birth certificate is very important, as it is the first official document that a person has certifying the authenticity of one’s personal information and has a great influence on future legal considerations. This information includes the date and time of birth, the name of the newborn, their surname, the name of the mother and father, the gender of the newborn, and the place of the childbirth and nationality. Consequently, the failure to issue such certificate leads to the risk of statelessness, especially in cases of asylum families are more vulnerable to disintegration due to the unstable refugee situation and its psychological, social and economic implications, and the failure to document these incidents, may lead to children being at risk of statelessness, and documenting these incidents provides protection for them through certifying parenthood, age and nationality. In light of documenting these incidents, especially the issue of birth certificates, official authorities, including the Ministry of the Interior, the Civil Status Department, the Syrian Refugee Affairs Directorate, the High Commissioner for Refugees, ARDD and other actors in this field have endeavored to spread awareness to motivate, help, and facilitate procedures of issuing these documents and ensuring their issuance and documentation for Syrian refugees present on Jordanian lands. Since the start of the campaign in the beginning of 2017 until the end of 2018, ARDD worked at addressing cases related to a birth certificate for Syrian refugees after one year of age, through the procedures and legal assistance it provided, as indicated in the report. ARDD has worked on more than 3500 cases and Legal Aid Unit lawyers presented more than 9875 legal consultations related to issuing a birth certificate. This legal paper addresses the statistics of birth registrations for Syrian Refugees in Jordan during 2017 and 2018, the importance of recording these cases, the legal dimensions, challenges and measures to address these challenges and ARDD’s role and recommendations in this regard.