Paragraph 2

The position of the Jordanian Government in regard to the preparation of an optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights will be determined at a later date when the protocol has been finalized and the details of its articles have been studied.

Jordanian legislation and the procedures concerning minorities and foreigners

Paragraph 3

Under Jordanian legislation, minority groups enjoy the same rights as all other Jordanians, without distinction as to race, religion or gender. Political, economic, social and cultural rights are protected by the Jordanian Constitution (arts. 5-23) in accordance with two basic principles: the nation is the source of all powers; and Jordanians enjoy full equality in regard to their rights and obligations.

In Jordan, ethnic and religious minorities and foreigners enjoy full freedom; they have their own places of worship, clubs and charitable associations. Non-Muslim communities have their own religious laws and courts to which their members can resort for the settlement of all matters of personal status that fall within the jurisdiction of the courts. They are completely free to engage in their religious activity and their prayers are broadcast on Jordanian radio and television from their places of worship in the same way as the prayers of Muslims.

In Jordan, minorities are fully entitled to participate in parliamentary life. The Kingdom is divided into electoral districts, in each of which the minorities have representatives, and Jordanian legislation guarantees the right of all groups and minorities to enjoy freedom of expression and to manifest their original cultures in a manner consistent with democracy and pluralism. For example, there are cultural associations for Circassians, Chechens, Druze and Armenians and other cultures, all of which help to enrich Jordanian culture.

The regulations of the Ministry of Culture facilitate the registration of these associations, which receive annual financial and material support in the same way as other Jordanian associations and organizations. In addition, the Ministry of Culture is endeavouring to encourage these minority associations to disseminate their culture and heritage through participation in the fairs and festivals which the Ministry and the Jordanian State hold on various occasions.

In Jordan, economic rights are not confined to one social category to the exclusion of others. On the contrary, every Jordanian has the right to engage in any economic activity, including the acquisition of property. Foreigners also have the right to engage in economic activities and to acquire 100 per cent ownership of property, in accordance with the new foreign investment legislation, on an equal footing with Jordanians.

Far from confining itself to the recognition and regulation of these rights in the Jordanian Constitution and laws, the Jordanian legislature has devised ways and means to guarantee their practical application. The main guarantees are:

(a) Political guarantees, including the principle of the separation of powers (executive, legislative and judicial) and parliamentary control over governmental policies, etc.;

(b) Judicial guarantees, including the principle of the independence of the judiciary, the right to legal remedy, and judicial control;

(c) Guarantees provided by international and bilateral treaties and economic and cultural protocols concluded with other States.

Paragraph 4

Equality between men and women

The basic principle of equality between men and women is enshrined in the Jordanian Constitution, which stipulates that all Jordanians, whether male or female, are equal. Jordanian women enjoy the same legal capacity as men in all civil matters, such as the conclusion of contracts, the management of property and commercial transactions, including ownership, management and supervision, without interference from, and without requiring the approval of, their husbands or any male member of their family, since the Jordanian Civil Code (Act No. 43 of 1976) defines a natural person as follows: "Everyone who has attained the age of majority, who is in full possession of his mental faculties and has not been placed under guardianship shall be fully competent to exercise his civil rights. The age of majority is 18 full solar years".

The courts treat women in exactly the same way as men; they can sue and be sued and their testimony, like that of men, is admissible in the civil courts. The Jordanian Government and most of the Jordanian non-governmental women's organizations and associations, which are disseminated throughout the Kingdom, are implementing legal awareness programmes with a view to eradicating ignorance of the law among Jordanian women and acquainting them with their rights and obligations for which provision is made in the laws and legislation. A number of organizations provide legal services, free of charge or at nominal cost, for indigent women and also appoint lawyers to defend their rights in courts.

Women are awarded compensation equivalent to that received by men, and are liable to the same penalties as men, in similar circumstances.

The Jordanian Government is endeavouring, through educational programmes, symposia and the various information media, to overcome some prevailing customs and traditions which discriminate between men and women.

Paragraph 5 (a)

No one is subject to forced labour. However, by law, any person may be required to perform work or a service:

(i) In an emergency situation, such as a state of war, a public danger, fire, flood, famine, earthquake or a severe epidemic affecting persons or animals, or in any other circumstance that might jeopardize the safety of all or part of the population;

(ii) Pursuant to a court judgement ordering the performance of such work or service under the supervision of an official authority, on the understanding that the person ordered to perform it must not be hired to, or placed at the disposal of, individuals, companies, associations or any public body.

Paragraph 5 (b)

The Jordanian Labour Code (Act No. 21 of 1960), as amended most recently by Act No. 8 of 1996, was promulgated to safeguard the rights recognized in article 23 of the Constitution, such as terms and conditions of service and employment, training, individual contracts of employment, collective agreements, minimum wages, wage protection, health, safety and welfare, working hours, annual holidays and leave, the employment of women and children, workers' compensation, trade unions and the settlement of labour disputes.

Paragraph 6

As in the case of most developing countries, Jordan is suffering from a high rate of unemployment, particularly among educated persons. However, the rate is low among unskilled workers, any deficit in this sector being offset by migrant labour from neighbouring and southern Asian countries. According to the statistics for 1999, the rate of unemployment amounted to 11.95 per cent for males and 27.47 per cent for females in the Kingdom's labour force over 15 years of age, with variations between urban and rural areas. The statistical tables annexed hereto show the rate of unemployment for the labour force (aged 15-65 years) by gender and age group in urban and rural areas.

Paragraph 7

Minimum wages are fixed, in accordance with article 24 of the Jordanian Labour Code, as follows:

(a) The Cabinet is empowered to fix, on the basis of a proposal by the Minister for Social Affairs, the minimum wage payable to workers in a specific region, occupation or occupational branch;

(b) The minimum wage payable, on a time or piecework basis, must be specified in monetary terms, but a proportion of the wage may be paid in cash and the remainder in kind provided that the in-kind proportion is supplied at prices that have been agreed upon;

(c) In order to set minimum wages, the Minister for Social Affairs appoints the temporary committees that he deems necessary to study the prevailing conditions of employment in any region, occupation or occupational branch for which a new or modified minimum wage is considered to be appropriate;

(d) In order to coordinate the endeavours of the above-mentioned committees, the Minister for Social Affairs appoints an advisory board consisting of six members (two representing the Government, two representing the employers and two representing the workers, the latter four being designated in consultation with the employers' and workers' organizations concerned);

(e) All the categories of minimum wages that are set or modified in accordance with the provisions of the Code are published in the Official Gazette and enter into force six weeks after the date of their publication therein unless otherwise stipulated;

(f) When a minimum wage is so announced for any region, occupation or occupational branch, employers must pay to each of their workers a wage that is not less than the minimum set, without making any deductions other than those permitted by the Code. Anyone who violates the provisions of this paragraph is liable to a fine;

(g) The minimum wages for the various sectors are set in the light of their respective circumstances, taking into account the prevailing socio-economic factors and the need to balance the interests of workers against the requirement to maintain stable labour relations between the parties involved in the production process.

Paragraph 8

No average wages have yet been set.

Paragraph 9

The phenomenon of child labour still exists in Jordan in spite of the legislation that has been promulgated to curb it. In order to determine the effectiveness of the laws and regulations in this field, the Ministry of Labour has established a Child Labour Section in its Studies and Research Department for the following purposes:

(a) To conduct a comprehensive survey, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Development and other official Jordanian bodies, such as the Ministry of the Interior, with a view to determining the real magnitude of this phenomenon;

(b) To compile and periodically update a new database to measure the socio-economic and psychological dimensions of this phenomenon, determine its scope and find appropriate solutions thereto, in the light of realistic data concerning its magnitude.

Paragraph 10

In addition to members of the armed forces and the police, the following categories are exempted from the provisions of the Labour Code:

(a) Civil servants working in the public sector or employed by municipalities;

(b) Employers' family members working, without pay, in their enterprises;

(c) Domestic servants, gardeners and the like.

Paragraph 11

Article 23 of the Constitution refers to freedom of association. The Jordanian Labour Code also makes provision for freedom of association without restricting the exercise of this right to a particular nationality. Under the terms of the Labour Code, trade unions have the right of affiliation to international organizations subject to approval by the Minister for Social Affairs and Labour. Although Jordan has no independent trade unions for foreigners, the latter benefit from the labour legislation in the same way as Jordanians, without any discrimination.

Paragraph 12

Under the Jordanian Social Security Act, everyone enjoys social security and health insurance for himself and his family. This Act applies to all workers with the sole exception of those entitled to civil pensions, such as civil servants, or military pensions, such as members of the armed forces and the public security and police services.

Paragraph 13

The Social Security Act, which applies to almost all categories of the people, makes provision for six types of insurance. In addition to the two types mentioned in the report, the Act also makes provision for:

(a) Insurance against temporary incapacity due to sickness or maternity;

(b) Health insurance for the worker and his family;

(c) Family allowances;

(d) Unemployment insurance.

The Act defines the categories covered by social insurance as workers subject to the Labour Code and active civil servants who do not belong to a pension fund. The social insurance umbrella also covers Jordanians working abroad. Social security benefits are determined by the last monthly salary received by the worker, which must not be less than the minimum wage, taking into consideration the number of years of service.

Paragraph 14

The social security system has not yet been harmonized with the civil and military pension system. However, since 1994, newly appointed civil servants have been affiliated to the social security instead of the civil pension system. The purpose of this harmonization is to standardize the age of retirement, which is set at 20 years of actual service or attainment of the age of 60 in the case of civil pensions, in contrast to a minimum of 15 years of service and attainment of the age of 60, inter alia, in the case of social security. The authorities concerned at the Department of Social Security and the Civil Service and Military Pensions Boards are studying this harmonization, which has not yet been completed.

Paragraph 15

As already mentioned in paragraph 14, consideration is currently being given to harmonization of the following main aspects of the pension legislation in which disparities exist:

(a) The age of retirement;

(b) The period of pensionable service;

(c) The criteria for the calculation of pensions, etc.

Paragraph 16

A National Assistance Fund has been established. This is an institution, fully funded by the Government, which caters for the welfare of needy citizens. Regular cash benefits are paid to the following categories:

General cases

(a) Orphans under 18 years of age and their families;

(b) Widowed, divorced and abandoned women and girls over 18 years of age who lack a family provider;

(c) Physically disabled persons and their families;

(d) The families of detainees and convicts;

(e) Elderly persons and their families;

(f) Alternative families, who receive benefits in respect of each child or juvenile placed in their care, when it has been established that their original families are unable to cater for their social, health or psychological welfare;

(g) Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians, whose cases are dealt with on an individual basis in the light of their family situation.

Special cases

(a) Families with unemployed children over 18 years of age who are unmarried and capable of working;

(b) Families with unmarried working children over 18 years of age, provided that the family income does not exceed 250 dinars;

(c) Disabled persons over 18 years of age who are living with their families, provided that the family income does not exceed 250 dinars.

Emergency cash benefits are payable in the following cases

(a) Death of the family provider;

(b) Sickness of the family provider;

(c) Detention of the family provider;

(d) Any exceptional circumstances, as determined by the Director-General of the Fund;

(e) Any other cases approved by the Board.

Monthly cash benefits are paid to families with one or more disabled members at rates determined by the number of disabled members and the family's monthly income.

Cash benefits are paid for physical rehabilitation (artificial limbs, hearing aids, equipment for paraplegics, vehicles for the disabled, dentures, eyeglasses, etc.). A cash benefit of up to US$ 6,000 is paid for vocational rehabilitation in order to enable the beneficiary to engage in an occupation, profession or trade consistent with his abilities, potential and experience. The main categories benefiting from this rehabilitation are:

(a) Partially disabled persons capable of working in an enterprise;

(b) The families of convicts, if one of their members is capable of working;

(c) An elderly member of a family who is capable of working;

(d) Persons released from prisons and hospitals for mental disorders who are capable of working;

(e) Graduates of educational and training institutions and persons who have been trained in specific occupations;

(f) Persons who have suffered financial damage in previous disasters and require assistance to rebuild their enterprises;

(g) Widowed, divorced, abandoned, orphaned and single women;

(h) Vagrants and beggars;

(i) Any other category approved by the Board of the Fund.

Paragraph 17

The sources of funding have not yet been fully determined. However, the principal sources will be monthly salary deductions, in addition to contributions from the Government or the employer, which are usually double the amount of the deduction. These matters are still being studied.

Paragraph 18

"Legitimate cause" means that the judge must be satisfied concerning the applicant's ineligibility for marriage due to his inappropriate age or his moral or criminal conduct, etc.

Paragraph 19

In Jordan, questions of divorce are dealt with in accordance with the Islamic Shariah in the case of Muslims and, in the case of non-Muslims, in accordance with their religious beliefs and in their own courts. Muslims in Jordan have a legal right to divorce and this right is exercised by both men and women in specific circumstances with due regard for the provisions of the law. The rights of women and children are respected in this connection.

In Islam, divorce is reprehensible and, therefore, there are certain prohibitions and impediments to deter men from exercising this right. Women also enjoy the right to have their marriage contract annulled or to be granted a divorce in certain circumstances, such as congenital defects which preclude the performance of conjugal functions, incurable illness, the husband's inability to maintain his wife, absence for a lengthy period of time, etc. Jordanian law specifies the rights of a divorced woman in regard to the deferred portion of her dowry and child custody, since a man who divorces his wife has an obligation to pay monthly maintenance for his children, as well as an amount of money to compensate the woman for taking care of his children, these amounts being determined in the light of the man's income and his movable and immovable property.

As already mentioned in paragraph 16, divorced women and their children are entitled to social security benefits and cash assistance from the National Assistance Fund.

Paragraph 20

If a divorced, widowed or abandoned woman does not receive benefits from a private, social security, military or civil pension fund, she is entitled to cash assistance, depending on the circumstances, in accordance with the Statutes of the National Assistance Fund, as already mentioned in paragraph 16. The amount of the assistance is determined by the family's circumstances, such as financial resources and number of members, each case being considered on its merits.

Paragraph 21

The Ministry of Supply has been abolished and the prices of foodstuffs are no longer controlled, being determined by the market forces of supply and demand.

Paragraph 22

Most of the unoccupied dwellings are in the capital and, in particular, in the upper class districts. This is due to the construction boom after the second Gulf crisis when the large number of Jordanians returning from the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia increased the demand for housing. A further factor lies in the tax exemptions which the Government grants to the housing sector in order to ensure the availability of housing for all citizens. Since the unoccupied dwellings are found mainly in the upper class districts of the capital, they have not had any noteworthy effect on rental levels or on the development of the construction sector in other lower income districts.

Paragraph 23

Since the 1960s, the Jordanian Government has been pursuing a policy of settling the nomads. Consequently, we find that the proportion of true nomads is so low as to be virtually non-existent, since most of them are semi-nomadic, leaving their dwellings and villages in some seasons, particularly in the spring, for a certain period of time and subsequently returning to their homes. In this connection, we wish to point out that the Jordanian Government is diligently endeavouring to provide full services and benefits for its citizens, without exception, in accordance with their individual circumstances. The number of nomads is estimated at about 90,000, most of whom are citizens.

Paragraph 24

The mortality rate among children under five years of age amounts to 25 per 1,000 births. The principal causes of child mortality are:

(a) Gastritis and enteritis;

(b) Pneumonia;

(c) Contagious diseases;

(d) Accidents.

Paragraph 25

The Government is taking a number of practical steps to safeguard the health of citizens in rural and nomadic areas. These include:

(a) Provision of health services through the health centres, maternity and childcare centres and hospitals which have been established in all parts of the Kingdom. There are 836 general, primary and subsidiary health centres and 316 maternity and childcare centres;

(b) Provision of treatment, such as rehydration solution, tonics and antipyretics, either free of charge or at reasonable prices, for mothers and children;

(c) Child welfare programmes under which vaccines are administered free of charge to children up to six years of age at maternity and childcare centres, followed by periodic field visits;

(d) Health education programmes;

(e) Nutritional care and endeavours to combat malnutrition;

(f) Prenatal, perinatal, postnatal and family planning services.

Paragraph 26

The question of comprehensive health insurance is still under study. The main obstacle impeding its introduction at the present time is the Kingdom's financial circumstances. However, the Jordanian Government is endeavouring to ensure the application of comprehensive health insurance by securing the necessary sources of funding. This matter is still pending.

Paragraph 27

The proportion of women in Jordan who receive qualified medical care during pregnancy amounts to 96 per cent (according to the health and population survey of 1997).

Care is provided free of charge at the maternal and childcare centres with a view to ensuring a safe birth and a healthy child. Expectant mothers pay periodic visits to these centres for the following purposes:

(a) General medical and gynaecological examinations, laboratory tests and vaccination against tetanus;

(b) Evaluation and monitoring of the mother's nutritional status in order to protect her from anaemia and malnutrition and provide her with tonics free of charge;

(c) Monitoring the development of the pregnancy and detecting dangerous pregnancies requiring intensive care or referral to specialists;

(d) Provision of therapeutic services or referral of pathological cases;

(e) Health and nutritional education on matters of concern to women, such as risk factors in pregnancy, nutrition, childcare and family planning.

Paragraph 28

With regard to family planning services:

(a) According to the 1997 health and population survey, family planning methods are currently being used by 53 per cent of Jordanians;

(b) The family planning services, which are provided free of charge at maternity and childcare centres in order to improve the health of mothers, children, families and society as a whole and reduce maternal and child mortality rates, include:

(i) Making family planning aids available at maternity centres and in most other health sectors;

(ii) Provision of medical counselling to help women to choose and use the best method in the light of the results of a medical examination and laboratory tests;

(iii) Regular provision of such aids, together with the requisite health care and monitoring for women.

(c) Providing husbands with information on the benefits of family planning, the dangers of pregnancy at an early or advanced age and the hazards of closely spaced and multiple pregnancies through lectures, symposia, educational booklets and pamphlets and the information media;

(d) The National Population Committee, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Health Care and all the bodies concerned, has formulated a national family planning information strategy the first stage of which is being implemented through a programmed information campaign on the topic of male participation.

Paragraph 29

Due to the conservative nature of Jordanian society, the incidence of sexually transmissible diseases is negligible. According to the statistics available at the end of 1999, the total number of cases amounted to 174, of whom 59 were suffering from AIDS and 115 were carriers of the HIV virus. The number of deaths amounted to 45.

Foreigners accounted for 72 (37.6 per cent) of the total number of cases detected and recorded in Jordan.

The total number of Jordanian patients amounted to 102, of whom 2 were children infected through their mothers.

The National Aids Programme was set up in 1986 to control and curb the spread of this disease in the Kingdom.

There is constant coordination among the governmental bodies concerned, private voluntary organizations and the Ministry of Health, which are taking measures to provide various forms of care for patients and categories that are exposed to infection with this disease.

Blood and its derivatives are tested, particularly among children, to ensure that they are totally free from the AIDS virus.

Mothers infected with AIDS receive counselling to prevent the disease from being transmitted to their children as far as possible.

Ongoing awareness campaigns are conducted in order to make the public familiar with the manner in which infected persons should be treated from the social and humanitarian standpoints.

Comprehensive awareness campaigns are conducted, through the media and educational institutions, with a view to protecting the population from AIDS.

Paragraph 30

The Ministry of Education is committed to the legislation that the State has promulgated to make education free and compulsory for all Jordanians on the basis of equality of opportunity for all, without distinction on grounds of gender, language or religion. The Education Act No. 3 of 1994 stipulates that basic education is free and compulsory for a period of 10 years. Further and informal education form part of the education system.

The Jordanian National Charter, proclaimed in 1990, embodies the basic principle that Jordanians, whether male or female, are equal before the law without discrimination between them in regard to their rights and obligations. It also stipulates that children have a right to the best standard of care and protection by their parents and the State in order to develop an independent and cooperative personality in Jordanian children, without discrimination between males and females.

The strategies for the development of education in Jordan emphasize that all persons have a right to education in accordance with their individual aptitudes and abilities. These strategies show concern for the qualitative dimension of education in view of the interlinkage between education and the aims of comprehensive economic, scientific, cultural and technological development.

The Ministry of Education has endeavoured to improve the standard of its curricula by incorporating vocational training and courses in computer science, the French language, the Christian religion, population and the environment in the basic educational curricula for both males and females in order to prepare them to become productive citizens and provide them with the academic and scientific skills needed to enable them to enter the labour market after completing their basic education.

The quantitative status of education in Jordan

The ratio of students to the total population in the Kingdom amounts to about 32 per cent.

Paragraph 31

Paragraph 32

The Ministry of Education has opened literacy and adult education centres and evening schools in rural and remote areas so that men and women who missed the opportunity to receive an education can study free of charge.

In 1996/97 the total number of students attending kindergarten amounted to 69,647, of whom 37,727 were male and 31,920 female.

In 1998/99, the total number of students amounted to 250,622 (138,737 males and 111,885 females) attending 1,048 kindergartens in the Kingdom.

(a) Quantitative development

(i) Literacy and adult education programmes

(iii) Home study programmes

Academic Year	Enrolments by gender			Centres by gender
.	Total	Males	Females	Total	Males	Females
1990/91	3 194	1 456	1 738	61	28	33
1995/96	4 766	1 948	2 818	90	38	52
1998/99	1 423	548	875	33	14	19

(b) Qualitative development

The programme has helped to deal with many educational, social and economic issues and problems affecting both individuals and society and has also helped to train, and in some cases rehabilitate, job seekers.

This educational programme has provided excellent opportunities for adults to make up for the education that they missed by remedying some of the adverse aspects of regular school education. In fact, the programme has succeeded in rectifying the shortcomings from which the regular education system suffered when many citizens were of school age.

It should be noted that informal education has succeeded in reducing the illiteracy rate from 88.5 per cent in 1952 to 9 per cent in 1999.

From the social standpoint, this programme has eliminated social disparities and barriers between citizens, achieved a democratic balance and promoted family planning and cohesion. Our society has become more open to progress and better prepared to meet challenges. From the economic standpoint, this form of education has helped to train manpower, improve the occupational standard of performance of workers and increase their productivity and, consequently, their income, while at the same time providing the labour market with trained and qualified technical personnel.

Paragraph 33

Paragraph 34

Paragraph 35

In order to ensure that minority groups, refugees and outstanding students obtain places at the official Jordanian universities, the Jordanian Government has allocated specific proportions of the available places at universities to disadvantaged groups. For example, 5 per cent of the seats at the official universities have been allocated to refugees living in the camps and a further 5 per cent has been allocated to other disadvantaged groups. The students obtaining the highest grades at schools throughout the Kingdom are admitted to the universities on scholarships awarded by the Higher Educational Council, which is a governmental institution. Moreover, in accordance with the cultural protocols that have been concluded with some other States, Jordanian students are allocated places to study at universities in those States at the expense of the host Government and the Jordanian Higher Educational Council.

Paragraph 36

Jordanian legislation provides all ethnic groups and minorities with an opportunity to enjoy freedom of expression and manifest their original culture in conformity with the principles of democracy and pluralism. For example, there are Circassian, Druze, Armenian and other cultural associations all of which help to enrich Jordanian culture.

The regulations of the Ministry of Culture facilitate the registration of these associations, which receive annual financial and material support in the same way as other Jordanian associations and organizations, without any discrimination.

In addition, the Ministry of Culture is endeavouring to encourage these minority associations to disseminate their culture and heritage through participation in the fairs and festivals which the Ministry and the State hold on various occasions.

The Ministry of Culture allows these associations to use all its facilities for the presentation of theatrical, musical and folklore performances in Arabic and also in their own languages and facilitates their participation in international festivals to which they are invited and in which they usually represent Jordan through their cultural and artistic activities.

Paragraph 37

The Ministry of Culture provides regular financial and in-kind assistance to help the cultural and charitable associations and social organizations registered with it to engage and integrate in cultural activities. The Ministry also provides assistance to enable students and persons with special needs to attend its activities by reducing the prices that they are required to pay for tickets to cultural performances. The Ministry also endeavours to ensure that most of the activities that it organizes are free in order to make it easier for everyone to attend and participate.

The Ministry of Culture encourages students to make effective contributions to cultural activities by inviting outstanding young artists to take part in festivals, camps and poetical, artistic and cultural gatherings at which they can manifest their talents. For example, the Ministry organizes an annual youth theatrical festival to which it invites young directors and actors from universities and schools so that they can present their theatrical experience and interact with the cultural community. They also receive financial support to help them to present their performances in an appropriate manner.

Finally, the Ministry encourages disabled persons, through their associations and organizations, to organize cultural activities that highlight their role in society and their ability to integrate therein. All the requisite facilities are provided to ensure that they enjoy freedom of movement and access to the places at which cultural activities are organized.