Migrant workers in Jordan have been given a deadline to leave the country, as authorities announced that they would prioritise the employment of Jordanian citizens in the wake of the crisis. Having initiated a strict lock-down to control the virus, the country has started to loosen measures and businesses have now been given the green […]
Jordan: Covid-19 and Detention
Although the GDP has not been able to find reports of authorities taking steps to protect persons in immigration detention, various reports have highlighted that in Zaatari and Azraq refugee camps – which some observers have likened to immigration detention facilities (although the GDP does not classify them as such) – temperature screening has been […]
Last updated: July 2020
DETAINEE DATA
DETENTION CAPACITY
ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA
PRISON DATA
POPULATION DATA
SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA & POLLS
LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
Detention-Related Legislation
GROUNDS FOR DETENTION
Immigration-Status-Related Grounds
Criminal Penalties for Immigration-Related Violations
Grounds for Criminal Immigration-Related Incarceration / Maximum Length of Incarceration
Has the Country Decriminalised Immigration-Related Violations?
LENGTH OF DETENTION
DETENTION INSTITUTIONS
Custodial Authorities
Agency
Ministry
Typology
Year
PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS
COSTS & OUTSOURCING
COVID-19 DATA
TRANSPARENCY
MONITORING
Types of Authorised Detention Monitoring Institutions
Institution
Type
Year
National CenterCentre for Human Rights
National Human Rights Institution (or Ombudsperson) (NHRI)
2014
NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING BODIES
NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISMS (OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE)
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOS)
GOVERNMENTAL MONITORING BODIES
INTERNATIONAL DETENTION MONITORING
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES & TREATY BODIES
International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2009
2009
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
1991
1991
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 9/19
Relevant Recommendations or Observations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Committee against Torture
16. The Committee urges the State party to strengthen its shelter system to prevent women at risk of violence from being held in the same detention facilities as women with criminal records. The State
party should also ensure that, in cases relating to refugees and asylum-seekers, administrative detention is not arbitrary and is used only as a measure of last resort and for as short a period as possible. The State party should ensure that all detainees are guaranteed all fundamental procedural safeguards and consider amending the Crimes Prevention Act to ensure that it is in line with international human rights
standards and the State party’s obligations under the Convention.
2024
2024
2024
Committee on the Rights of the Child
The Committee recommends that the State party :
(c)About article 37 of the Law on Residence and Foreigners’ Affairs, which permits the detention of asylum-seekers and refugees on the basis of their migration status; and that when migrant workers without a regular residence status are placed in detention, their children are placed in institutional care;
(d) Prohibit the arrest and detention of asylum -seeking and migrant children on the basis of their or their parents’ migration status , and ensure alternatives to detention for migrant parents and their children ;
2023
2023
2024
Committee against Torture
§ 22. The Committee reiterates its previous recommendation (CAT/C/JOR/CO/2, para. 13) to abolish the practice of administrative detention, including and in particular the holding of women and girls who are victims of violence in “protective custody” as well as migrant workers who are fleeing abusive employers. It should also ensure that guarantees exist regarding all fundamental procedural safeguards for all detainees. The State party should take immediate measures to amend the Crimes Prevention Act with a view to bringing it into compliance with international human rights standards and with the State party’s obligations under the Convention; alternatively, the State party should abolish the Crimes Prevention Act.
2016
2016
2018
Committee on the Rights of the Child
“ensure that no child victims [of trafficking] are placed in detention facilities but that they are provided with comprehensive protective and rehabilitation services, including adequate shelter.”
2014
2014
2014
Committee against Torture
“compile statistical data relevant to the monitoring of the implementation of the Convention at the national level, disaggregated by gender, age and nationality, as well as information on complaints, investigations, prosecutions and convictions of cases of torture and ill-treatment, administrative detention, trafficking, ill-treatment of migrant workers and domestic and sexual violence, and outcomes of all such complaints and cases.”
2010
2010
2010
> UN Special Procedures
Visits by Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council
Relevant Recommendations or Observations by UN Special Procedures
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
47.Given the influx of migrant workers, refugees and asylum seekers and the Jordanian immigration policy based on repatriation of undocumented migrants, the Special Rapporteur is concerned that victims of trafficking may not identified or are misidentified as irregular migrants, resulting in their arrest, detention and deportation....75.Current immigration practices do not provide sufficient protection to the migrant labour force, which includes refugees and asylum seekers, from the risk of exploitation and trafficking. 86. Given the influx of migrant workers, refugees and asylum seekers, the country’s restrictive immigration policy focused on rapid deportation of irregular migrants does not provide the opportunity for accurate identification of and provision of assistance to victims of trafficking.... (b) Ensure that victims of trafficking can be identified, even when they are in immigration detention centres to avoid their repatriation and re-victimization;
2016
2016
2016
> UN Universal Periodic Review
HEALTH CARE PROVISION
HEALTH IMPACTS
COVID-19
Country Updates
Migrant workers in Jordan have been given a deadline to leave the country, as authorities announced that they would prioritise the employment of Jordanian citizens in the wake of the crisis. Having initiated a strict lock-down to control the virus, the country has started to loosen measures and businesses have now been given the green light to re-open. According to the country’s Labour Minister, at least 75 percent of employees of any business wishing to reopen would have to be Jordanian.
Jordan is currently home to up to 100,000 migrant workers, who largely work in the construction, agricultural, and catering industries. Many of them face enormous barriers to securing basic rights and are particularly vulnerable to arbitrary arrest and detention - including at the hands of their employers. According to authorities, they must leave the country by Saturday 9 May – and all fines and fees, including for undocumented migrants, will be waived if they depart within this time. With limited international transport, the feasibility of this remains unclear.
Although the GDP has not been able to find reports of authorities taking steps to protect persons in immigration detention, various reports have highlighted that in Zaatari and Azraq refugee camps - which some observers have likened to immigration detention facilities (although the GDP does not classify them as such) - temperature screening has been introduced at camp entrances. Supermarkets within the camps are also open for longer hours, to help facilitate social distancing, and quarantine and self-isolation shelters have been constructed. All lock-down measures applied to Jordan also apply to the camps.
The State Security Court has, meanwhile, released some 1,500 persons from prisons, who were awaiting trial for national security offences, in order to mitigate health risks. Previously, on 14 March 2020, all visits to prisoners were suspended until further notice. On 16 March, it was reported that two prisoners had died following riots in Irbid prison (in response to the suspension of visits).
Government Agencies
Prime Minister, https://www.pm.gov.jo/Default/Ar
Ministry of the Interior (Arabic), www.moi.gov.jo
International Organisations
UNHCR Representation in Jordan, www.unhcr.jo
UNHCR Jordan Country Page, http://reporting.unhcr.org/node/2549#_ga=1.26115903.32124244.1433849501
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, http://www.unrwa.org/
NGO & Research Institutions
Justice Center for Human Rights (Arabic), www.jcla-org.com
National Center for Human Rights, www.nchr.org.jo/english/home.aspx
Tamkeen for Legal Aid and Human Rights, https://tamkeen-jo.org/en
