Jordan
In late 1995, Rights and Humanity was commissioned by the British Government’s Overseas Development Administration (ODA) to undertake research in Jordan and make recommendations for priority funding for women’s empowerment. ODA adopted many of the priorities we identified and provided funding for a number of projects that facilitated women’s rights and empowerment which have had long term benefits, for instance:
support for women suffering domestic violence, including training for the police and the establishment of a special unit to handle domestic violence complaints, and
projects to facilitate the rights of women and girls with disabilities.
Implementing the Human Rights Approach to Development in Jordan
In 1999, Rights and Humanity established our own programme in Jordan. We developed community empowerment projects within each of Jordan’s 12 governorates. We organised a series of activities at the community level to assess the understanding and realisation of human rights. Using participatory methods we facilitated the formulation of action plans for realising human rights reflecting community priorities. Participants included representatives of local mosques, churches, schools, health centres, community service centres and NGOs, and staff from ministries of health and education.
Throughout 2001 and 2002, Rights and Humanity worked closely with the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD), chaired by HRH Princess Basma in a consultation process to investigate perceptions concerning human rights in Jordan.
As HRH Princess Basma puts it:
“The most important finding was that, whilst urban-based professionals spoke mostly of civil and political rights, non-professional women from poorer urban or rural communities focused far more on economic and social rights, and most especially the rights to essential services like education, health and social security. They also asserted that a lack of transparency and accountability on the part of duty bearing institutions was the main barrier to claiming rights in practice.”
The priorities identified and recommendations developed by this programme contributed towards identifying steps to implement a human rights approach to development in Jordan.
The programmes provided a model for the implementation of a human rights approach both as a basis for sustainable human development and as a foundation for participatory democracy. The model is relevant both in Jordan and further afield.