Jordan

Victim Assistance

Last updated: 10 October 2018

Victim assistance action points

  • Improve rehabilitation centers and provide adequate training to staff.
  • Ensure the full implementation of the new law on the rights of persons with disabilities.
  • Ensure mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) survivors’ full access to medical insurance, quality rehabilitation care, and services as identified in the 2015–2020 Mine Action Plan.
  • Ensure regular maintenance and repair of mine/ERW survivors’ assistive devices, especially for refugees.
  • Develop national prosthetic and orthotic standards as identified in the 2015–2020 Mine Action Plan.

Victim assistance planning and coordination

Government focal point

Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (HCD)[1]

Coordination mechanisms

Steering Committee on Survivor and Victim Assistance, chaired by the HCD[2]

Plans/strategies

Victim assistance is included in the National Mine Action Plan 2015–2020[3]

Disability sector integration

The HCD also serves as the focal point for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).[4] Victim assistance is integrated into the National Disability Strategy[5]

Survivor inclusion and participation

Survivors are included in the Steering Committee on Survivor and Victim Assistance. The HCD includes representatives of persons with disabilities

Reporting (Article 7 and statements)

Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form G

Statement delivered at Mine Ban Treaty 16th Meeting of States Parties in Vienna, in December 2017

 

International commitments and obligations

Jordan is responsible for a significant number of landmine/ERW survivors who are in need: 799 recorded[6]

Mine Ban Treaty

Yes

Convention on Cluster Munitions

No

Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCW) Protocol V

No

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

Yes

 

Laws and policies

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s national legislation prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability,[7] but such legal protections were not upheld.[8] In 2017, there was a 76% unemployment rate among persons with disabilities.[9] The National Building Law (No. 7 of 1993), which provides for accessibility standards, lacked implementation.[10] A 10-year national plan was being developed in 2018 to facilitate access to buildings and public services.[11]

Major Developments in 2017–2018

The Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities No. 20 for the Year 2017 entered into force on 30 August 2017. Under the new law, Jordanian citizens with disabilities are eligible for an identification card, which includes information about their disability. The identification card gives them access to a number of services, such as a health insurance card covering medical and rehabilitation services. The law also guarantees employment quotas, access to education, and access to public facilities.[12] According to the new law, the Social Development Ministry will be responsible of providing services to persons with disabilities in place of the NCD.[13]


Emergency, continuing, physical medical rehabilitation; prosthetics and mobility devices; psychological

The influx of Syrian refugees strains Jordanian public services and resources.[14] In 2017, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) strengthened the capacity of local medical service providers to respond to emergencies by providing materials, equipment, and training.[15] A joint program of the ICRC, the University of Jordan, and the Ministry of Health was launched in 2017 to improve teaching in physical rehabilitation.[16]

Médecins sans Frontières(MSF) Amman reconstructive surgery hospital, originally set up to treat war-wounded Iraqis, now admits patients from Syria, Libya, Yemen, and Palestine.[17] War-wounded received reconstructive surgery, physiotherapy, and psychosocial support in 2017.[18]

The Paola Biocca Center, which opened in 2015, had treated 100 amputees by the end of 2017, many of whom were refugees.[19] In 2017, Jordan reported providing 20 prostheses free of charge.[20]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

The National Committee for Demining and Rehabilitation(NCDR) continued its economic reintegration project in collaboration with the Jordan Agricultural Credit Corporation.[21] In an effort to improve the standards of living of persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, Jordan provided monthly grants to persons with disabilities.[22]

Cross-cutting

There were more than 670,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan as of September 2018.[23] Since late 2014, access to health services for Syrian refugees is no longer free of charge, and specialized care for persons with disabilities can be very costly, preventing many of them from accessing appropriate care.[24]

The Sir Bobby Charlton Centre for Support and Rehabilitation, which opened in Amman in August 2017, aims to support and coordinate physical and mental rehabilitation for Syrian refugees.[25] Humanity & Inclusion (HI, formerly Handicap International) also provided physical rehabilitation and psychosocial services to Syrian refugees,[26] as did the ICRC[27] and MSF.[28] The Paola Biocca Center also provided physical rehabilitation services to refugees.[29]

Due to the uneven distribution of services throughout Jordan, persons with disabilities living in remote areas had little access to services.[30]

Victim assistance providers and activities

Name of organization

Type of activity

Government

Ministry of Health

Medical and rehabilitation services[31]

Ministry of Social Development

Referral of refugees,[32] rehabilitation,[33] economic support[34]

Ministry of Planning

Referral of refugees[35]

National Committee for Demining and Rehabilitation (NCDR)

Rehabilitation,[36] economic inclusion[37]

National

Asia Development Training (ADT)

Physical rehabilitation and mobility services[38]

International

Paola Biocca Center

Rehabilitation, prostheses and orthoses, social inclusion, peer support, rehabilitation training[39]

Sir Bobby Charlton Centre for Support and Rehabilitation, Amman

Physical rehabilitation, psychological support, training[40]

Humanity & Inclusion (HI)

Needs assessment and referral, physical rehabilitation and capacity-building, psychosocial support, provision of assistive devices, awareness raising for refugees, pilot testing Washington Group questionsWashington Group[41]

Polus Center

Physical rehabilitations, mobility devices, prosthetic and physical therapy training, and psychological support[42]

ICRC

Training, material and technical support, treatment of weapon-wounded people, medical supplies[43]

Médecins sans Frontières (MSF)

Emergency surgical care to war-wounded, physiotherapy, and psychosocial support[44]

 



[1] National Committee for Demining and Rehabilitation(NCDR), “2015–2020 NCDR National Plan,” Amman, undated, p. 20.

[2] Ibid.; and interview with Mohammed Breikat and Awni Ayasreh, NCDR, Amman, 28 May 2010.

[3] NCDR, “2015–2020 NCDR National Plan,” Amman, undated.

[4] Interview with Mohammed Breikat and Awni Ayasreh, NCDR, Amman, 28 May 2010.

[5] Email from Adnan Telfah, NCDR, 12 June 2012; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form G.

[6] Email from Adnan Telfah, NCDR, June 2012; casualty data and statistics for the period 2000 to 2013 provided by Adnan Telfah, NCDR, 10 March 2014; and NCDR, “2015–2020 NCDR National Plan,” Amman, undated, p. 19.

[8] United States (US) Department of State, “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2017: Jordan,” Washington, DC, 20 April 2018, p. 35.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Statement of Jordan, Mine Ban Treaty Sixteenth Meeting of States Parties, Vienna, 19 December 2017; and Camille Dupire, “Jordan’s law on rights of people with disability recognised at global summit,” The Jordan Times, 2 August 2018.

[12] Lexology, “Accessibility: Disability and the Law,” 30 October 2017; and Laila Azzeh, “New law on disability opens ‘new era’ for country—official,” The Jordan Times, 9 June 2017.

[14] Statement of Jordan, Mine Ban Treaty Sixteenth Meeting of States Parties, Vienna, 19 December 2017; and HI, “Jordan Country Card,” October 2017, p. 1.

[15] ICRC, “Annual Report 2017,” Geneva, June 2018, p. 477; and ICRC, “Jordan: Facts and Figures,” Amman, March 2018, p. 1.

[16] ICRC, “Annual Report 2017,” Geneva, June 2018, p. 477; and ICRC, “Jordan: Facts and Figures,” Amman, March 2018, p. 3.

[18] Ibid.

[19] Paola Biocca Center, “Paola Biocca Rehabilitation Center: 2017,” undated, p. 6.

[20] Statement of Jordan, Mine Ban Treaty Sixteenth Meeting of States Parties, Vienna, 19 December 2017.

[22] Statement of Jordan, Mine Ban Treaty Sixteenth Meeting of States Parties, Vienna, 19 December 2017.

[23] United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “Syria Regional Refugee Response: Jordan,” 24 September 2018.

[24] HI and iMMAP, “Removing Barriers: the Path towards Inclusive Access,” Amman, July 2018, p. 23.

[25]Centre for landmine blast survivors opens in Amman,” The Jordan Times, 23 August 2017.

[26] HI, “Jordan Country Card,” October 2017, p. 2.

[27] ICRC, “Annual Report 2017,” Geneva, June 2018, p. 477.

[28] MSF, “International Activity Report 2017,” Geneva, undated, p. 55.

[29] Paola Biocca Center, “Paola Biocca Rehabilitation Center: 2017,” undated, p. 6.

[30] HI, “Jordan Country Card,” October 2017, p. 1.

[31] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form G.

[32] Paola Biocca Center, “Paola Biocca Rehabilitation Center: 2017,” undated.

[33] Ana V. Ibáñez Prieto, “Ministry to draft 10-year plan to improve lives of people with disabilities,” The Jordan Times, 24 May 2018.

[34] Ana V. Ibáñez Prieto, “Ministry to draft 10-year plan to improve lives of people with disabilities,” The Jordan Times, 24 May 2018.

[35] Paola Biocca Center, “Paola Biocca Rehabilitation Center: 2017,” undated.

[36] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2017), Form G.

[37] NCDR, “تجديد اتفاقية صندوق الاقراض الزراعي” (“Renewal of the Agricultural Credit Fund Agreement”), 4 February 2018.

[38] Noor al-Saleh, “Des enfants syriens trouvent l'espoir dans un centre de réhabilitation d'Amman” (“Syrian children find hope at a rehabilitation center in Amman”), Al-Mashareq, 15 January 2018.

[39] Paola Biocca Center, “Paola Biocca Rehabilitation Center: 2017,” undated.

[40]Centre for landmine blast survivors opens in Amman,” The Jordan Times, 23 August 2017.

[41] HI, “Jordan Country Card,” October 2017, p. 2.

[42] Polus Center for Social and Economic Development, “Jordan,” undated.

[43] ICRC, “Annual Report 2017,” Geneva, June 2018, p. 477.