Committee On Rights Of Child Examines Reports Of Jordan On The Convention, Children In Armed Conflict And Sale Of Children
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Presenting the report, Rajab Sukayri, Permanent Representative of
In the interactive dialogue Committee Experts commended
The plight of the Syrian refugees was a huge issue and an international responsibility, not just the problem of
Under the Optional Protocol on children in armed conflict, Committee Experts asked for clarification of the minimum age that children could join the military, about military schools and the reported recruitment of children by non-State armed groups in the Syrian refugee camps.
On the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Committee Experts commended
Muib Nimrat, Director of the
The Delegation of
The next public meeting of the Committee will take place at
Reports
The Committee is reviewing the combined fourth and fifth periodic report of
The reports are available in other languages, along with annexes and addendums, the lists of issues, and written replies by the State party, and can be found on the Committee's webpage.
Presentation of the Report
RAJAB SUKAYRI, Permanent Representative of
The 2010 Provisional Family Law now stipulated that the minimum marriageable age for girls and boys was 18 years of age, although a child aged 15 to 18 years old could marry with the permission of a judge, in accordance with strict criteria. Children born out of wedlock were registered without any legal delays. In recognition of their legal status, they were registered in a civilian registry, given a national number, identification card and passport, none of which indicated that the child was born out of wedlock. The rights of children born to a Jordanian mother and a non-Jordanian father had been improved to give them access to residency, healthcare in public hospitals and education in public schools with other Jordanian children, as well as the right to work and to own property.
The influx of Syrian refugees was a major challenge, the Permanent Representative said. It had caused social and economic repercussions on Jordanian people, families and children, particularly in the regions with a high concentration of refugees. Most refugees were being hosted within Jordanian society and not in refugee camps. The Jordanian Government provided education and health services to those refugees, as to Jordanian children. However, that was an added burden on the Government which was reflected in the quality of the services, he said, noting that an estimated 13 per cent of public schools had two school-day shifts per day, in the morning and evening, to meet the needs of the refugee children.
Questions from the Experts
HATEM KOTRANE, Committee Member acting as Country Rapporteur for the report of
Regarding the apparent ease with which girls were married, it seemed that despite the legal minimum age of 18 years, the laws were not strong enough. The Committee wanted to address the exceptions where girls could get married at a younger age, for example in cases when marriage would 'ward off a certain evil' or 'secure a certain benefit'. The Committee could not see what benefit marrying below 18 years could bring. The same question applied to Syrian girls. The Committee was informed that girls came from
Crimes committed in the name of so-called "honour", and justifications for mitigating circumstances in the Penal Code, were raised. Why was an exception made to perpetrators for girls aged below 15 years? What steps was
An Expert asked whether
The Committee asked about the categorization of certain children as 'victims of lascivious conduct', 'foundlings whose parentage was unknown' or 'illegitimate children', and discrimination faced by them compared to children born within lawful wedlock. In some cases children were not allowed to live with their biological mothers. The Committee noted that there had been serious improvement in that regard, but asked whether
Gender discrimination was one of the most serious problems in
Girls also faced discrimination in their inheritance rights, and by the law, as well as in their right to housing. It was a cultural issue and most gender discrimination came from families, the Expert commented, adding that it was a closed circle. Without taking away the legal rules that allowed for gender inequality, it would not be easy to overcome those social stereotypes. What was
Violence against girls was raised by an Expert, as well as ill-treatment of children in State and private institutions. The Committee paid tribute to people working in institutions for documenting and providing more information on them. The State party recently closed down five centres and gave around 30 a warning. Some 19 workers were convicted. Were the centres closed down and officials convicted for crimes of violence against children? The Committee hailed the various measures taken in the field of corporal punishment. Efforts taken to fight neglect and ill-treatment in the home were also welcomed, particularly the national census on the family and the new oversight system on violence in the family. Were all forms of violence in the home criminalized by legislation?
Response from the Delegation
All measures taken by
International conventions took legal precedence over domestic legislation, as enshrined in the constitution, the delegate confirmed, adding that many judges invoked international conventions in their sentencing. It was difficult to determine how many cases had had international human rights treaties invoked in them, he added. Furthermore the Government often convened workshops, seminars and training courses for members of the judiciary and the legal sector that taught and promoted international human rights treaties, he noted, giving as an example a case study about a child changing its name which invoked the
The Children's Parliament of
The draft bill on the Rights of the Child had been prepared by a committee in conjunction with all stakeholders, but was withdrawn from the
The age of marriage in
Questions from the Experts
The rules on custody did not exactly fit into the Committee's view of a good family environment, an Expert said, citing laws that held in cases of divorce children could stay with their mothers only until the age of seven years, after which children lived with their fathers. Was there any concept of joint custody, the Expert asked?
There were considerably less boys than girls living in childcare institutions in
The huge challenges in the field of education faced by
Turning to health issues, an Expert paid tribute to
The Expert also noted that women were encouraged to stop breastfeeding when infants were five months of age, and asked if there were any campaigns to encourage mothers to breastfeed for longer.
Measures to support vulnerable families living in poverty were raised by an Expert, who asked about the
The plight of unaccompanied children arriving in
On the subject of health, an Expert said the alarming levels of malnutrition of children in
The Committee had heard alarming reports about adolescent health, particularly related to the criminalization of abortion in all situations. The Committee did not believe that the criminalization of abortion was a good response to the plight that mostly affected teenage girls; it instead favoured sound responsible sexual and reproductive health education.
The plight of the Syrian refugees was a huge issue, and an international responsibility, not just the problem of
Regarding the legal rights of children, an Expert asked about the use of preventative custody for children, citing some disturbing cases provided to the Committee. What about the context of social reintegration for children who had been in trouble with the law, to emphasize better social rehabilitation rather than penal punishment?
Response from the Delegation
Regarding so-called "honour" crimes, a delegate explained that 'affront or violation to one's honour' was not considered to be a mitigating circumstance in a criminal trial. Mitigating circumstances - both for men and women - could include extreme emotional provocation, but not honour. Since the law was amended in 2010 no accused person had been able to claim mitigating circumstances in order to gain a reduction in penalty.
The National Children's Action Plan concluded in 2013 and was now being assessed. Consequently a new national action plan - drafted with contributions from all concerned stakeholders: children and professional adults who worked with children - was now being rolled out. The new plan included provisions for children with disabilities.
Awareness-raising of the Convention took place in schools and through nationwide campaigns. Adults naturally had a role in disseminating the Convention.
Regarding childcare, an initiative aimed at private companies that had a certain percentage of working mothers set up in-house crcches had been quite successful, with so far 80 crcches being opened. Government guidelines were in place to ensure the crcches were safe, well-run, with facilities and teaching that reached a minimum standard.
Children were allowed to make complaints of ill-treatment, providing the complaint did not constitute a crime under the Criminal Code. If a child was under 15 years and wanted to complain of a crime committed against them, then the child's guardian had to submit the complaint. However, if a child could not convince their guardian to submit the complaint for them, the child could refer the case to the
In
On child marriage, a delegate confirmed that it was illegal for a child younger than 15 years of age to be married. Any case of a person being married under 15 years should be reported to the
The Personal Status Code defined the act of marriage as being an act between a man and a woman to constitute a family, a household and to have children. On that basis, fair, legal, comprehensive and holistic consent to a marriage must take place - the key building block of a marriage was the full and free consent of both the man and the woman to that contract. Any girl aged between 15 and 18 years would be questioned individually, and in private, by a judge to determine whether she consented to the marriage or not. The judge would also meet with members of her family, and seek the input of a social worker and a psychologist. All such interviews took place to ascertain that the girl had freely consented and that her interests were fully protected within the marriage contract. A Supreme Judge would verify the decision of the first judge. There would also be health tests of both the bride and groom, in particular to test for communicable diseases.
Follow-Up Questions
An Expert said it was reported that around eight per cent, or more than 5,000 brides, were younger than 18 years of age, in a recent period of just 12 months. Did judges really interview 5,000 brides and all members of their family in such detail to determine they consented to the marriage? Furthermore, the Committee was informed that poverty was a major factor relating to child marriage.
An Expert commented that recent surveys showed that almost 30 per cent of people in
Response from the Delegation
A delegate replied to the follow-up questions, saying that there were many regional courts in
Responding to the comment by an Expert that Jordanians believed that girls 'were a burden', a delegate replied that the
Women did work in
The Head of Delegation took the floor to speak about the impact on
The flood of Syrians arriving had led to economic and financial constraints, the Head of Delegation continued. In order to guarantee the rights of the Syrian refugees - including children - such as their right to health, education, shelter, food and security - there was a financial cost. For that reason the Zaatari Camp was established, which was now home to more than 130,000 refugees. It was no longer appropriate to refer to it as a camp as it was now one of the biggest cities in
Zaatari Camp's existence required deep-rooted and long-term commitment from the Jordanian Government. Although international organizations, particularly the
Services to Syrian refugees cost
In conclusion, the Head of Delegation emphasized that a large amount of the Syrian refugees were children.
Syrians were not the only refugees or foreign populations, a delegate noted. There were a large number of Iraqi refugees who fled to
There was no prohibition of Syrian, Iraqi or Palestinian families and children accessing services provided by
Under Sharia law, there were particular laws on inheritance which were based on a mathematical equation, and there was no better system. Any refusal to apply that equation would be a huge deprivation of a woman's right. Thankfully Sharia law defined the inheritance share due to women and took into account the rights of children, which was sometimes double the amount due to women, and in some circumstances women had the right to receive a higher inheritance than men.
There was no discrimination between girls and boys with regard to the right to education, and authorities were legally obliged to provide education to all children resident in
There were two policies concerning violence against children. First was the national strategy to protect children from domestic violence, and second the national strategic plan for protection from domestic violence. The latter encompassed a wide array of activities, such as statistical data collection which was entered into a database.
Corporal punishment of children in schools was prohibited. A 2011 amendment to the Penal Code allowed parents - the mother and the father of the child - to use a certain amount of corrective punishment, however. The amendment included restrictions to ensure that corrective punishment did not lead to any injury or damage. Any injury resulting from corrective punishment was sanctioned. However, today that provision was in effect suspended, as any attack on a child could be considered to be an injury - either physical or psychological. A campaign called 'beating children is violence' had been launched to raise awareness of the negative effects of corporal punishment and the Sharia principle that no violence should be levied upon a child. It also promoted alternatives to corporal punishment and non-violent ways in which parents could discipline their children.
Regarding the act of the removal of the uterus, which concerned women, a delegate said that if a person deliberately removed the uterus of a woman without her consent it was punishable by law. The removal of a bodily organ without medical reason was illegal. Even if a person who was unable to express their own will - such as a person with a mental disability - had their uterus removed, for example at the request of her family, it was still a prosecutable crime. It was illegal to remove the uterus of a woman with a mental disability, but it was true that the relevant legislation was not explicit or clear enough, he said. A new law was currently being drafted which addressed the illegal removal of uteruses and would specifically criminalize the act. He added that the Sharia concept of 'blood money' allowed for compensation, an amount of up to 100 times the income, whether the person had full mental capacities or not.
Regarding custody of children, the foremost principle was always the 'best interest of the child'. Reports that a Muslim woman could keep her child only until the age of seven years could be a misreading of the legal text within the Personal Status Law. It might be possible for a mother, even if she were not a Muslim, to could keep the child for longer than seven years if it was in the best interest of the child. Joint custody was a new concept launched in 2012 that allowed one of the parents to keep a child for one to three days per week. That enabled both parents to make sure they followed up on the care of a child, although again the best interest of the child took precedence.
A woman who had a baby out of wedlock was by law known as the 'foster mother', and was allowed to keep the child if she could prove that she could provide for it, a delegate said. There had been a reduction in the number of cases of polygamy, a delegate said, but emphasized that a biological mother was considered the true mother of a child. A second wife did not have the right to care for the child of a first wife.
Regarding the gender balance in children's homes, a delegate explained that there were both Government-run and non-governmental organization-run institutions; there were approximately 25 in
The school dropout rate was four per cent, a delegate said. The concept of 'drop-out' was considered to be both dropping out of school and irregular attendance. More boys than girls dropped out of school, because boys often went to work instead to help their families make ends meet. To rectify that the Government ran a campaign in which it removed those children from the labour market and sent them back to school.
The authorities needed to redouble their efforts to ensure the implementation of the national framework to combat child labour, which had an important component on the integration of children into education. An amendment to the law on education provided for penalties for parents who took their children out of education and sent them to work. Furthermore, parents of children who worked had to forfeit their social security benefits.
There was a campaign to promote the advantages of 'natural' breastfeeding, raising awareness of the best ways of incorporating breastfeeding within the family routine. There were also laws prohibiting the marketing of unnatural breastfeeding alternatives. There was also guidance for medical professionals on recommending powdered milk.
Regarding children in conflict with the law, a delegate said that in
The State party's report stated there were no non-State armed groups or militia in
The delegation was also asked about Jordanian legislation on extradition, and whether people involved in war crimes using children were considered to be ordinary criminals or criminals under international criminal law.
Response by the Delegation to questions on the Optional Protocol to the
It was not possible for children under the age of 18 years to be enlisted in the army - children were not enlisted either formally or informally into the armed forces of
Details of Jordanian legislation covering all forms of involvement in the military and security forces were provided, and a delegate explained that each territorial administration of
The military schools were aimed to provide facilities to the children of military families, for example those living on a military base. They did not offer any special military or weapons training and the curriculum was the same as in other public schools. Students wore a school uniform that had no military style or insignia to it.
Concerning non-State armed groups operating outside
Regarding reports of non-State armed groups recruiting children in the refugee camps in
Former child soldiers arrived in
Extradition was governed by international conventions and laws. Extradition requests received by
Questions from the Experts under the Optional Protocol to the
There were regulations in place to address the problem of sexual tourism but what kind of monitoring was applied to the people targeted by those regulations, the delegation asked.
Response from the Delegation to questions on the Optional Protocol to the
A delegate spoke about legislation designed to prevent the crime of trafficking in persons giving the example that domestic law explicitly prohibited the confiscation of passports and the trafficking of human organs. Legislation reform had taken place following
The crime of trafficking was defined as attracting people, sheltering them, transporting them, coercing them or threatening or forcing them, kidnapping and abuse of authority with the aim of exploitation. 'Attracting' children aged 18 years or younger for the purposes of exploitation - even if no threat was used - was also illegal. The term "exploitation" implicitly included "sale" and therefore the sale of children was criminalized in
A specialized Government unit, the National Anti-Trafficking Unit, was established to investigate and prevent crimes of trafficking in persons. The personnel serving in the unit received special training. The Unit managed a hotline which operated in several languages, to make it accessible to people of non-Jordanian nationalities. People could use the hotline to lodge complaints which prompted quick investigations. There was also a field working group composed of officials from various ministries who examined alleged cases of trafficking and exploitation.
Awareness-raising campaigns were carried out to make vulnerable people and other stakeholders aware of the risks and signs of trafficking and to give them tools to prevent them from falling into such traps. Targeted training was given to the border security forces to ensure they had all the knowledge and instruments they needed to prevent and tackle child exploitation.
Assistance and protection for victims of trafficking was available through various programmes. Specific forms of protection were available for men, women and children. A woman victim of trafficking was absolutely not liable to be prosecuted for the crime of an indecent act, a delegate clarified. Victim centres, hostels and some hospital departments, run by the
A delegate outlined the legislation in place to prevent sexual exploitation and the dissemination of child pornography, including on the internet. Furthermore, the crime of disseminating pornographic images of children under the age of 18 or a person with disabilities carried a sanction of three months in prison and a fine. The sanctions could also include forced labour.
Follow-Up Questions from the Experts
An Expert said the delegation had denied that the sterilization of intellectually disabled girls took place in
Another Expert said the delegation said that no refugees were stripped of their nationality, but, prior to the
The Committee had information that one third of the children living in Jordanian orphanages had been born out of wedlock. As the delegation affirmed that unmarried mothers did not have a problem to keep their children, could it please explain why such a high proportion of the children were in State institutions?
An Expert asked about the marriage contract, which tended to be signed by a 'proxy person' - either the father or an institution. Usually a girl gave 'proxy' to her father, and only very wealthy and educated girls dealt with their marriage contract themselves. Were there any statistics available on that?
Response by the Delegation
Nobody's nationality had been withdrawn, but because of the dissolution of the administrative and legal link, when people joined the armed forces or the administration of the Palestinian Authority,
The sterilization of persons with intellectual disabilities was a crime, a delegate confirmed. Although some articles in the media may assert that it took place in some hospitals, it was still a crime. If a complaint was brought to the
A mother who had a child outside of wedlock could keep her child, a delegate affirmed.
Concluding Remarks
HATEM KOTRANE, Committee Member acting as Country Rapporteur for the report of
MUIB NIMRAT, Director of the
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