"We hope that the government will act quickly and study our demands and make amendments before the law comes into effect on December 16," Jordanian Women's Union President Amneh Zu'bi said during a press conference yesterday.

The Societies Law, which was published in the Official Gazette on September 16, will take effect within 90 days from that date, she added.

Zu'bi said she was speaking on behalf of a civil societies' coalition that was formed a few months ago to discuss the law with parliamentarians and the government.

"We tried to discuss our demands with lawmakers before they passed the law but they did not listen to us. This does not mean we will stop. We will continue our dialogue with the government and parliamentarians until they take our point of view into consideration," Zu'bi said.

She added that she was hopeful that the government would act quickly before the 90 days elapse.

Earlier this month, Premier Nader Dahabi said the government is considering amending the controversial law, although it has already been endorsed by Parliament.

"If the government finds there are valid reasons, it will reconsider the 2008 Societies Law," the premier said during a meeting with representatives from charity societies, noting that one of the potential options for the government is to add new amendments to the law and present it to the Lower House under emergency status.

All laws submitted by the government aim to serve the community, Dahabi said, adding that the government is keen to keep an open dialogue with the public on proposed legislation, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Following Parliament's endorsement of the law in July, civil society organisations expressed anger, disappointment and frustration that their main demands and concerns were brushed aside by lawmakers, saying this step was aimed at curbing freedom and democracy in Jordan.

The law imposes strict and complicated conditions on NGOs and basically is meant to "keep us under the mercy of the government and allows it to meddle in NGOs' decisions, activities and funding sources," Zu'bi told the press.

The law imposes fines ranging from JD1,000-JD10,000, six months imprisonment and seizure of organisational finances for violations.

Other activists described the legislation as crippling the work of NGOs and at the same time, contrary to government commitments of ensuring freedom of work for civil organisations.

The controversial law also gives the authority to approve funds donated to NGOs to the Cabinet, after it was under the jurisdiction of the concerned minister.

Activists are concerned the government will use the financial support provision as a means to twist the arms of certain NGOs that take hardline stands against its policies.

But Minister of Social Development Hala Latouf explained in a recent interview with The Jordan Times that the new legislation replaces a 42-year-old law that governed NGOs.

The minister said the new law seeks to organise the work of NGOs and to put things into perspective in terms of where these NGOs should be registered and which ministry they fall under.

"We have around 3,000 registered organisations and this is a healthy number. We just need a good law to regulate their work," Latouf said at the time.

Some of the articles in the law that raised the concerns of NGOs stipulate that the relevant minister should approve all decisions taken by an NGO board.

Another article allows authorities to impose an individual, mainly from the ministry or any other government body, to serve at a certain organisation or become a board member.

When the bill was introduced for discussion, several MPs, including members of the Islamic Action Front, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, urged fellow lawmakers to remove the bill from the agenda. The majority of MPs, however, decided to press ahead with their deliberations, endorsing most of the articles as introduced by the government with slight changes.

On the other hand, many conservative deputies argued the bill was the perfect remedy to what they described as inherent corruption in many civil society groups. They said NGOs that work in accordance with the law and observe their own bylaws have no reason to worry.

"We hope that the government will act fast because we feel it does not appreciate our efforts as a civil society since it imposed this strict law that will hinder our work once it comes into effect," activist Emily Naffa told the press yesterday.

By Rana Husseini

© Jordan Times 2008

 

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